Papal Hallelujah

“Thank, God!” Thus did Pope John Paul II greet news of Gorbachev’s return to power, papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro reported Thursday.

The coup’s failure immediately reignited speculation at the Vatican of a 1992 papal visit to the Soviet Union. Indeed, the coup attempt could “confirm the usefulness” of a papal visit, Navarro said, since on his travels, John Paul “promotes a series of principles of Christian ethics such as peaceful coexistence, mutual respect and tolerance. These values are a help to countries in difficulty.”

The Pope, who was in Hungary when Soviet plotters’ tanks rolled on Monday, warmly praised Gorbachev’s “lofty inspiration” and the “voice and dignity” he sought to restore to the Soviet people.

Since returning to Rome on Tuesday, Navarro said, the Pope had followed reports from the Soviet Union minute-by-minute, blending written and electronic reports with dispatches from the Vatican nuncio in Moscow.

This story was compiled from Times staff and wire reports.