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Saturday, July 27, 2013

Pope in Brazil: Pilgrims pack Copacabana beach for vigil



The BBC's Julia Carneiro says it was an "historic night" on Copacabana
Organisers say about two million people have packed Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the last evening of World Youth Day with Pope Francis.

The night-long vigil service marks the climax of the five-day festival and culminates in a huge Mass on Sunday.

The Pope called on young people to be the actors of change in society and rebuild the Roman Catholic church.

On Saturday, he challenged the clergy to leave the comfort of their churches and reach out to the marginalised.

His week-long visit to Brazil is coming to an end on Sunday.

Speaking on a huge stage where a mock church structure was built, Pope Francis referred to the street protests which have been taking place in Brazil for more than a month.
'Overcome apathy'
"The young people in the street are the ones who want to be actors of change. Please don't let others be actors of change," he told the crowd at vigil.

"Keep overcoming apathy and offering a Christian response to the social and political concerns taking place in different parts of the world."

Earlier on Saturday, the pope told authorities and civil society leaders to use dialogue as an alternative to "selfish indifference and violent protests".

He also warned against turning into "facade Christians" who let themselves be "dragged by fashion".

In the last three decades, the Catholic church has lost millions of followers to smaller Christian denominations.

The vigil on Copacabana Beach marked the penultimate day of the Pope's visit to Brazil.

Correspondents said that by the time his car reached the stage, the back seat was filled with soccer jerseys, flags and flowers thrown to him by adoring pilgrims lining the route.

As the crowd grew, female activists held a demonstration nearby in support of abortion and women's rights.
'Go to the favelas'
Earlier, the Pope addressed civil leaders and government officials at Rio's Municipal Theatre.

"Between selfish indifference and violent protest, there is always another possible option: that of dialogue," he said, in a reference to demonstrations that have been rocking the country since June.

"A country grows when constructive dialogue occurs between its many rich cultural components: popular culture, university culture, youth culture, artistic and technological culture, economic culture, family culture and media culture."

Also on Saturday, the Pope repeated his challenge to fellow Roman Catholic clerics to take to the streets.

In a speech to 1,000 bishops and clerics in Rio's cathedral, he said they should go to the favelas - Brazil's shanty towns.

"We cannot keep ourselves shut up in parishes, in our communities, when so many people are waiting for the Gospel," he told the audience.

Protests, sometimes violent, broke out in cities across Brazil last month against corruption, poor public services and the high cost of events like the 2014 World Cup.

Pope speaks at prayer vigil. 27 July 2013 The Pope has addressed an estimated two million pilgrims at the prayer vigil on Copacabana Beach
World Youth Day cross fixed on the stage. 27 July 2013 The World Youth Day cross was fixed to the stage ahead of the Pope's arrival
Prayer vigil on Copacabana Beach. 27 July 2013 The vigil will culminate in a huge Mass on Sunday
Performance for prayer vigil. 27 July 2013 The Pope watched a performance during the vigil service
Pope wears indigenous headdress. 27 June 2013 On Saturday, the Pope wore a headdress given to him by members of the indigenous Pataxo...
 

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