Church bells across state to signify pope's death

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Bells at Roman Catholic churches across Oklahoma tolled Saturday to signify the death of Pope John Paul II, and the state's Catholic leaders called for prayers. <br/><br/>``I ask

Saturday, April 2nd 2005, 3:46 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Bells at Roman Catholic churches across Oklahoma tolled Saturday to signify the death of Pope John Paul II, and the state's Catholic leaders called for prayers.

``I ask everyone in this community, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, to pray for the pope, for his happy repose, that his eyes open soon to see the face of God for all eternity,'' Bishop Edward J. Slattery of the Tulsa Diocese said in a statement shortly after John Paul's death Saturday afternoon.

As the ailing pontiff's condition worsened on Friday, the Oklahoma City Archdiocese scheduled a special Mass at 11 a.m. Saturday at Our Lady's Cathedral in Oklahoma City. About 400 people attended the event, which was presided over by Archbishop Eusebius J. Beltran of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma.

``It was a means of calling together all Catholic people,'' said Father Edward Weisenburger. ``The cathedral parish is, in a sense, the mother church of the Archdiocese.''

``His death now gives us a chance to reflect on his leadership, which was marvelous.''

Slattery, who visited several times with John Paul, said the pope's entire papacy was dedicated to spreading a message of hope.

``Pope John Paul's greatest witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ was not in anything he said or wrote but in the courageous life he lived, especially in his last days.''

The Rev. Lawrence Stasyszen, president of St. Gregory's University in Shawnee, said John Paul leaves behind a legacy that will have a lasting positive impact on the entire global community.

``His untiring defense of the sanctity and dignity of human life, his profile writing and inspired teaching, his outreach to the people of all cultures and faiths, his courage in the face of totalitarian regimes, his consistent advocacy for peace ... make him one of the greatest leaders of the modern era,'' Stasyszen said.