Vatican City, Oct 16, 2003 / 22:00 pm
In an emotional front-page editorial of a special edition of L’Osservatore Romano published this Thursday on the 25th Anniversary of John Paul II’s election to the papacy, Editor-in-Chief Mario Agnes called the Pontiff a “letter from God” that the world has been unable to destroy.
The special edition of the Vatican newspaper included a 52-page photo spread and was sold out by midday.
Agnes said the Pope “continues to present himself as a Letter from God. The ‘envelope’ is a bit worn out—it’s been touched by the faith and love of so many hands for over 25 years.”
“It has been touched by the hands of assassins, whose purpose was to destroy the Letter,” he continued. “But they failed. And the envelope has been mistreated, and the consequences are evident. Yet the letter has remained intact and coherent, its words remain indelible and piercing”
“He is the Letter from God,” concluded Agnes.