Home > Programs
> Democracy
Now! > Mon., Apr. 4, 2005
Democracy Now!
ATTN: ALL STATIONS
From: Democracy Now!
Re: Rundown 4-4-05
PRSS Channel: A67.7
The Legacy of Pope John Paul II (1920 - 2005)
Martin Luther King Assassinated 37 Years Ago Today
The Legacy of Pope John Paul II (1920 - 2005)
Millions across the world are mourn the death of Pope John
Paul II. We examine his 26-year leadership of the Roman Catholic
Church with Mary Segers, an expert on Catholicism and the
Roman Catholic Church, journalist and author Angela Bonavoglia,
and former Catholic priest Blase Bonpaine.
Up to 200,000 mourners filled St. Peter's Square Sunday at
the Vatican to mark the passing of Pope John Paul II.
The Pope died Saturday night at the age of 84. Officials
announced the cause of death as septic shock - an infection
causing organ failure and cardiovascular system collapse.
A massive funeral is scheduled to take place on Friday. Rome
authorities are braced for as many as two million mourners
- including more than 100 heads of state - in the largest
such event the city has ever seen.
John Paul's 26-year leadership of the Roman Catholic Church
was the third longest in history and he was the first non-Italian
pope in over 400 years. During his papacy, he visited a record
120 nations and was seen in person by millions.
On Sunday, mourners filed past the Pope as his body lay in
state at the Vatican palace's Clementine Hall. He was dressed
in crimson vestments and a white bishop's miter, his head
resting on a stack of gold pillows. A rosary was wound around
his hands and a staff tucked under his left forearm.
The ceremony was put on view for the world for the first
time in history by Vatican TV. The pope's body will be transferred
to St. Peter's Basilica Monday afternoon for public viewing.
Meanwhile, the College of Cardinals convened Monday in the
Vatican's Apostolic Palace in the first of a series of daily
sessions which will deal with the day-to-day running of the
Church and prepare for elections for a new pope, to be held
between 15 and 20 days after his death.
Steps toward new leadership have already begun, with many
of the top Vatican officials stepping down. The new pope will
choose cardinals to lead his administration.
Today we spend much of the hour discussing the life of Pope
John Paul II.
- Angela Bonavoglia, an award-winning journalist and author
who covers social, health, religious and women's issues.
Her latest book, "Good Catholic Girls: How Women Are
Leading the Fight to Change the Church" was released
last month.
- Mary Segers, a professor of political science at Rutgers
University and an expert on American Catholicism, the Roman
Catholic Church, and the relationship between religion and
politics in the United States. Her books include "Church
Polity and American Politics: Issues in Contemporary American
Catholicism" and "The Catholic Church and Abortion
Politics: A View from the States."
- Blase Bonpane, Director of the Office
of the Americas. He was a Catholic priest in Guatemala
during the 1960s where he was expelled for his efforts on
behalf of the poor and disenfranchised. His most recent
book is called Common Sense for the 21st Century. He is
also a commentator on Pacifica station KPFK in Los Angeles.
Martin Luther King Assassinated 37 Years Ago Today
Today is the 37th anniversary of the death of the Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. He was assassinated on April 4th,
1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. We hear an excerpt of his "Beyond
Vietnam" speech that he delivered a year to the day before
his death. [includes rush
transcript]
Today is the 37th anniversary of the death of the Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. He was assassinated on April 4th 1968
at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was just 39
years old.
While, King is primarily remembered as one of the leading
figures in the civil rights movement in this country, he was
also one of the country's most prominent opponents of the
Vietnam War and a staunch critic of overall U.S. foreign policy.
In his "Beyond Vietnam" speech delivered at New
York's Riverside Church on April 4, 1967 -- a year to the
day before he was murdered -- King called the United States
"the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today."
Time magazine called the speech "demagogic slander that
sounded like a script for Radio Hanoi," and the Washington
Post declared that King had "diminished his usefulness
to his cause, his country, his people."
This is an excerpt of that speech that King gave on April
4th, 1967.
- The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., giving his "Beyond
Vietnam" speech at Riverside Church in New York on
April 4, 1967.
Courtesy: Pacifica
Radio Archives.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
|
Listen
to the show
Help
whole
show
