L'Aquila( why didn't the Pope go there)

[Joy11]

The site of the many coffins and tiny white caskets laid on top of them in the devastated town of L'Aquila in Italy after the Earthquake struck was heartbreaking, but why couldn't the Pope visit and give these people his message personally? instead of his messenger doing it, I know Easter has to be one of the buisiest in the papal calendar, but Rome wasn;t that far from there and one of the aftershocks were felt there, I think he may have made himself more accessable to his people if he done this, I am a non-catholic but I've no doubt his predecessor Pope John -Paul would have made that small journey, even for an hour or so.

[paraffin]

Well, Joy, it was on the news a few days ago saying he would be visiting the area - didn't specify when, though.

[Joy11]

mornin' paraffin, how are you today?
He will no doubt go there, but it would have showed humanity for him to go when it happened, not when the dust has settled......no pun intended.

[BilluSugger]

Maybe it was thought best not at the time . I would think a Papal visit would attract a lot of followers . Where would they sleep for a start , transport problems etc

[Octavius]

Popes traditionally hold off on visiting crisis zones to avoid disrupting rescue and recovery efforts. After a September 1997 quake killed 10 people in the Umbria region, the late Pope John Paul II waited until January 1998 to visit.