Canadian broadcasters plan coverage of Pope John Paul’s Friday funeral
TORONTO (CP) – Like overseas Olympics coverage and royal weddings, Canadian TV watchers will have to either stay up late or rise very early Friday if they want to observe live telecasts of the funeral of Pope John Paul from Rome.
Both the CBC and CBC Newsworld will begin coverage at 3:30 a.m. EDT and continue an open-ended broadcast, probably through to 7 a.m. Host Peter Mansbridge will be joined by expert commentators including Rev. Thomas Rosica, who ran World Youth Day in Toronto in 2002. Repeats will be in order at 9 a.m. on the main network with a 90-minute version on Newsworld at 7:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. Saturday.
CBC also plans a repeat airing of its expanded Life and Times episode of John Paul on Thursday from 8 to 10 p.m.
CTV says it will also begin live broadcasting at 3:30 in the morning Friday until 9 a.m. EDT with Lloyd Robertson anchoring from Rome, with assistance from Rev. Michael Bechard of St. Peter’s seminary at King’s College, University of Western Ontario.
Canada AM will replay funeral highlights later in the morning. On Friday night, from 8 p.m. EDT to 10 p.m., highlights will be carried on CTV Newsnet.
Global National plans live coverage, also beginning at 3:30 a.m. EDT, with a 9 o’clock re-broadcast. Kevin Newman anchors from Rome, with contributions from Troy Reeb, Francis Silvaggio and Wilf Dinnick.
Vision TV, the spiritual specialty channel, will air Friday’s Requiem Mass from St. Peter’s Square on a delayed basis at 7 p.m. EDT.
On Wednesday, Vision’s flagship current affairs series, 360 Vision, will devote its entire edition to an examination of Jean Paul’s 26-year papacy with an interfaith panel discussion and vignettes of Canadians of varying faiths sharing their thoughts on the pontiff’s legacy. The host is Noelle Richardson. A repeat broadcast will air Thursday night.
Also on Wednesday, the channel will repeat the hour-long documentary, John Paul II: Almost an Autobiography, by Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Dotta.
Vision also has plans to air the documentary, Election of a Pope: White Smoke, part of the BBC series Absolute Truth. It examines the history of the Roman Catholic Church since Vatican II, including an inside look at the process by which Jean Paul’s successor will be chosen in the days ahead. It’s not expected to air, however, until after the new pope is elected.
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