Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Reuters NewMedia, Inc. - 7 Oct 1995
Arthur Spiegelman

In the first serious demonstration of the pope's five-day tour, the protesters unfurled a banner reading "Condoms Save Lives" on a department store opposite St Patrick's Cathedral shortly before the pontiff arrived there for a service.

A block away, up to 100 screaming protesters waved banners reading "Stop Aids, Stop the Homophobia, Stop the Pope," and "Condoms are not coffins." Police tore down the banner and made four arrests.

Earlier the pope, riding a wave of personal popularity on his tour, enjoyed a pop star's welcome when he transformed Central Park into a huge outdoor cathedral.

He told a whooping, cheering crowd that America was a brave nation. "Do not be afraid always to search for God, then you will truly be the land of the free and home of the brave." The crowd in the park, green heart of New York, listened intently to his message of compassion for AIDS sufferers, the poor and the homeless.

The pope also pressed his crusade against abortion, a burning issue in America, urging Catholics to work against it, and condemned pornography and so-called assisted suicide.

In an event that mixed the sacred with the worldly, the pope said mass for the biggest crowd of his tour after performers like Natalie Cole, Roberta Flack and the Boys Choir of Harlem warmed up the crowd with a "Sunrise Concert" beginning at dawn.

The park's Great Lawn, site of some New York's biggest rock and pop concerts, became a place of worship framed by the city's famous towering skyscrapers. Some of the awe-struck congregation wept with the emotion at the huge event.

"We are blessed to be part of this. Today, this city is blessed," Mayor Rudolph Giuliani told the crowd as the pope was driven around the lawn in a bulletproof "popemobile".

As the 75-year-old pontiff arrived, the crowd chanted "John Paul II, We Love You" and held up crucifixes and rosary beads. They placed blankets and plastic sheets on the ground to protect them from the mud after several days of rain.

"This is New York, the great New York, this is Central Park," the pope said to cheers.

The rain that has dogged the pope's tour returned at the end of the mass after a day's respite Friday. Many people knelt in the mud and a chilly wind blew as priests fanned out under yellow and white umbrellas to distribute communion.

The pope's reception in St Patrick's was just as enthusiastic. The cathedral was packed with 3,000 people, many kneeling in the aisles and closing their eyes in contemplation as the pontiff said the rosary.

"It was like the Holy Spirit descended on the room. It was like being plugged into a spiritual source of energy," said seminarian Scott Leet from Orange, N.J..

Outside the cathedral, the pope threw dozens of security men into confusion by making an unscheduled walkabout in the crowd. Spectators pushed and jostled to see him.

In his homily in Central Park the pope again hammered home a central theme of this trip -- the contrast between the comfortable and the poor in a city that symbolises what he calls America's "extravagant affluence."

He called on his audience to tend to "the needs of the poor, the hungry, the homeless, those who are alone or ill, for example those sufffering from AIDS."

He pulled no punches on abortion -- a recurring theme on the trip, which began in New Jersey Wednesday and ends in Baltimore Sunday.

"You are called to stand up for life. To respect and defend the mystery of life always and everywhere, including the lives of unborn babies, giving real help and encouragement to mothers in difficult situations," he said.

"You are called to work and pray against abortion, against violence of all kinds, including the violence done against women's and children's dignity through pornography," he said.

Weaving part of his homily around the theme of the defence of life, the pontiff told his listeners: "Stand up for the life of the aged and the handicapped, against attempts to promote assisted-suicide and euthanasia."

"Stand up for marriage and family life," he said.

The crowd sang "Silent Night" after the pope told them that he considered the event New York's early Christmas gift to him. Tenor Placido Domingo sang at the end of the mass, which the smiling pontiff said had been a "wonderful day."

Security was tight around the huge 840-acre (195 hectare) park. Worshippers went through metal detectors and police frogmen scoured "Turtle Pond" for possible bombs. "Hopefully what they found was just turtles," said parks commissioner Henry Stern.

Student Jim McKenna said after the mass, "It's the first time in my 28 years that I've actually been filled with the spirit of the Lord. You just feel something special. I will be in church tomorrow for sure and I haven't been there for a while."

"He's made New York a city of God today. He's very inspiring, telling all New York Catholics to be brave and not be ashamed of our beliefs," said Danny O'Gallagher, 25.

The crowd left behind a sea of plastic sheets, sodden newspapers and blankets ruined by the mud.

Paramedics said 57 people were treated for mostly minor injuries during the mass. Fourteen were taken to hospital, one with a broken arm.

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