Sunday, May 10, 1981
Mitterand Wins Presidential Election
The first reports on the by-election in France showed that Francois Mitterand was leading over Giscard d’Estaing and that he will take over the presidency. Mitterand is known as a moderate Socialist. Will he be able to keep up his moderate line, or will he have to make concessions to the Communists who helped him win the election? Politics in France and in America are presently moving in opposite directions. While Reagan advocates a free market economy, Mitterand will certainly advance a Socialist program with further nationalization of industries in France.
South Bend, Wednesday, May 13, 1981
The Assassination Attempt on the Pope
About 11 a.m. here in the Midwest, the news came through that the Pope was shot at the Vatican and that his life is in danger. Daily activities in America seemed to stop for a moment. The events in Rome were hardly comprehensible. People were crying in the streets and congregated in churches. Gradually, one learned that the Pope, during his weekly Wednesday audience in St. Peter’s Square, surrounded by thousands of people, fell victim to an assassination attempt on his life in the early evening hours. As soon as it became clearer what had happened, all attention was directed to the clinic in Rome where John Paul II had been undergoing nearly five hours of surgery. Only when it was announced that the Holy Father was out of danger, did worries subside. But the disgust for this senseless crime will last forever.
Addendum
[The assassination attempt on the life of the Pope was made by a shady criminal figure who had escaped from prison in Turkey and the arrest by police. The shots were fired on May 13, 1981, at about 5 p.m., when John Paul II arrived for the weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square and drove through the crowd of the assembled faithful, standing in the open Popemobil, a small, jeep-like vehicle. One bullet went through the abdomen, causing life-threatening heavy bleeding. The wounded Pope was brought immediately by an ambulance to the Policlinico Gemelli where the difficult surgery was performed. Still weeks later, complications arose with high fever. That the life of John Paul was saved was almost a miracle. George Weigel gives a clear summary of the course of events of May 13, 1981, and their consequences; see Witness of Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II, pp. 411-16.]
Sunday, May 17, 1981
President Reagan in Notre Dame
At today’s Commencement Exercises of the University of Notre Dame, President Ronald Reagan gave the Commencement Address. It was his first public appearance after the assassination attempt on March 30. As expected, security was tight. More than the television cameras showed, Reagan’s features were still marked by what he had gone through. His voice was slightly broken. Nonetheless, he proved to be a brilliant speaker. But the phenomenon Ronald Reagan cannot be explained by rhetoric alone. His personality radiates charisma. He has a special appeal to an audience. The 13,000 people, who filled the Athletic and Convocation Center to capacity, gave him a roaring applause. Reagan appeals especially to the broad American middle class. In his address, he clearly expounded his government agenda: The jungle of government regulations has to be simplified; the power of the federal government should be restrained and taxes reduced. At the same time, he emphasized, the defense capacity of the United States needs to be strengthened. Surprisingly, Reagan also appeals to the majority of the young generation in colleges and universities. There were no demonstrations during the Commencement ceremony. No doubt, a conservative change of heart has occurred in America.
South Bend, May 19, 1981
The Largest Wave of Immigration since 1900
According to Time magazine of May 18, the largest wave of immigration to the United States since 1900 is presently ongoing. Just as in the early 1900’s, nearly a million people are now coming as immigrants to this country every year. Last year, about 800,000 immigrants were admitted to the United States. In addition, about a million illegal immigrants, who primarily cross the Southern border with Mexico, are also entering the country annually. Illegal immigration poses a special problem. While immigration before the First World War was made up mainly by industrial workers from Southern and Eastern Europe, the recent immigrants come from the Far East, the Caribbean and Central America. This new wave of immigration will decisively change the ethnic composition of the American population.