Pope Wraps Up South Africa Visit
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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Pope John Paul II attended a glittering ceremony in Johannesburg’s Cathedral of Christ the King on Sunday to wind up the major part of his historic visit to South Africa.
Speaking to an audience of church leaders from southern Africa, the Pope called for an end to the arms trade and told African states to spend their money instead on the welfare of their people.
The stately cathedral ceremony contrasted with the throb of drums and African music and song at a Mass presided over by the Pope earlier in the day.
About 100,000 people attended the Mass at the Gosforth Park horse racing course.
“A new dawn has risen,” the Pope told the crowd, including Nelson Mandela, the nation’s first black president, and former ruler Frederik W. de Klerk--now a deputy president in Mandela’s Cabinet. “Become what you want to be, the rainbow people of God.”
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