Pontiff Tells Disabled Pain Is ‘Treasure’

Pope John Paul II today met with the physically handicapped on the fourth day of his visit to Peru and told thousands on crutches and in wheelchairs that he knew their suffering and that despite desperation, man can find “pain is a treasure.”

“I come to visit the sick because I know your situation from close up. I’ve lived it, too,” the pontiff said, referring to the 1981 assassination attempt that left him seriously wounded.

Tens of thousands of people began crowding Callao’s Simon Bolivar Plaza as early as 4 a.m., five hours before the ceremony for the handicapped. They lined the nine-mile route from the Lima Nunciature to the port, shouting “We love you” and waving red, white and yellow flags as John Paul passed in his bulletproof Popemobile.

Dejection Understood

“I know . . . the utter dejection in which natural forces diminish and man seems reduced to an object in the hands of his caretakers,” he told the blind, deaf and other handicapped who came to hear his message. “Prostration and forced inactivity can provoke in the sick person . . . desperation.

“You dear brothers know by experience that neither technical services nor health care are sufficient. (But) identified with Christ, man can find pain is a treasure, death a gain. The love of Christ dignifies and sweetens pain.”

The Pope looked tired as he kissed mentally retarded children and blessed members of the crowd. Elderly women with “John Paul” sun visors wept.

Brothel Closure Asked

Callao is a run-down district, the largest port in Peru and site of Lima’s largest brothels. Its bishop, Ricardo Durand, led a church campaign last week demanding the brothels be closed during the Pope’s visit to Peru.

From Callao, he flew to northern Peru, where with temperatures approaching 100 degrees, a tired-looking John Paul told thousands of people at the Piura airport that interpretation of the gospel should be based strictly on the Church’s teachings.