Rome's mayor backs off plans to rename train station after late pope

Published: 2007-01-22

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican newspaper criticized Rome's mayor for backing off plans to rename the city's main train station after Pope John Paul II. In late December, Mayor Walter Veltroni joined Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the papal vicar of Rome, for the unveiling of two stone markers dedicating Termini Station to Pope John Paul. But after complaints from leftist political parties and a threatened sit-in, Veltroni issued a clarification, saying the station would not change its name. The Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, cried foul. In an article Jan. 21, it quoted Veltroni's words the day after the pope's death in April 2005. The mayor had proposed to "name Termini Station for John Paul II," it said, as a gesture recognizing the late pontiff as a world traveler. The Vatican newspaper said Veltroni was now, in effect, "de-naming" the station after complaints that the change would offend some passengers.

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