Comments at St Peter's Square, Vatican

Transcript, E&OE

16 October 2010

JOURNALIST: It is 24 hrs to go now so how do you feel about everything.

FOREIGN MINISTER: There is a great sense of excitement – a great sense of celebration – a wonderful celebration for the Sisters. I said to Sister Ann before, as we walked along the banks of the Tiber, that it feels like all the Sisters of Saint Joseph are having a huge picnic, it’s just a wonderful celebration, and this is the end of a process which began in 1925 – so 85 years of work with successive generations of Sisters of St Joseph and it’s just a real buzz, particularly the Australians you meet in the street. This is just a period of celebration of a good person’s life who did good things.

JOURNALIST: Are you nervous about the weather?

FOREIGN MINISTER: It looks like a Melbourne Day to me, so anything could happen.

JOURNALIST: At a personal level does this reinforce your faith?

FOREIGN MINISTER: Look, as I said before – many people have asked me this – this is not an occasion to talk about my own faith or religious beliefs. This is a celebration of a very special person’s life and that’s Mary MacKillop. It’s no secret, I have always been a person of faith, but this is not about me or any politician, this is not even about the good Sisters of St Joseph, it’s about this extraordinary woman’s life.

They have just presented me with this great book, which is Mary MacKillop’s Rome, so I intend to wander around a bit and see where Mary MacKillop got to with her pilgrimage across Rome.

The sheer courage of a woman arriving here about three years after Garibaldi’s march on Rome, when the place was in complete tumult – revolution, violence, guns, the lot, she comes here to get papal blessing for her work in Australia – that takes guts in my view.

JOURNALIST: Kevin Rudd, you have been treated like a pop star?

FOREIGN MINISTER: To be fair to those who are with me, all Australians in political life and who I have met in the streets are being embraced, and that’s because we are here to support a very special person.

JOURNALIST: Kathleen Evans was there today - this morning at rehearsal. What do you think that meant for the entire procedure – I mean someone who was actually directly involved – it must have been special.

FOREIGN MINISTER: I think this is all about a celebration of a single woman’s life, Mary MacKillop - let’s all just remain focused on her.

If I can say one other thing is this, remember how in Sydney, back in 2008, so many of you guys were very cynical about what was going to happen with World Youth Day. Remember you all had to swallow it afterwards. Just bear that in mind.

Remember also recently when Pope Benedict visited Britain and remember how the (inaudible) state in Britain basically were salivating at the prospect that it would turn into a complete unreconstructed disaster. Well guess what, they had to swallow that as well.

Similarly today – and I know you guys are not sort of into cynicism mode – quite the reverse, but we are about to confront an event here which is of a similar uplifting significance – so much of our news in Australia and around the world is about what is going wrong with the world about stuff that is happening which is bad and which is often evil.

This is an unconstrained celebration of something which is purely good and that is this extraordinary woman’s life and we should be celebrating it for what it is.

JOURNALIST: Do you know where the Prime Minister will be tomorrow?

FOREIGN MINISTER: I am here in Rome.

JULIE BISHOP: I am here in Rome...

We are just keeping an eye on each other, making sure no one goes home early.

JOURNALIST: Mr Rudd do you feel things are going right for you. You look very at home here I have to say. You are looking very comfortable and as happy as we have seen you look for awhile.

FOREIGN MINISTER: Look, I think the bottom line is what I think is a source of joy for all of us – a celebration of this extraordinary woman’s life.

You might think that is just a line. It is not.

Have you read this woman’s life? This is a woman who did more in her life than I think all of our lives put together. And this is a celebration of all of that. The entire Australian community whether they are Catholic or not, whether they are of faith or not, this is a woman of genuine guts, courage, determination who we all admire (inaudible).

JOURNALIST: Given the reaction that you have had from the crowds here, and your obvious pleasure in being here, did you end up in the right job in the end?

FOREIGN MINISTER: What I would say about the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, is this, it’s very good that they have got Kanga II here.

I’ll give you a portfolio response, that’s our consular service at work.

They have already helped out some young girls who had lost their passports last night. They are doing a terrific service and we should all give them a round of applause at some stage through the proceedings as well. They have been helping people out, so that’s my Departmental response to your question, that is, our consular service is working well.

JOURNALIST: What to do you think of tomorrow’s experience, what is it going to mean for Australia?

FOREIGN MINISTER: I think the word that first comes to mind is ‘uplifting’.

There is so much that we talk about in Australia and around the world about what is going wrong, but with this woman’s life we see something which has gone profoundly right.

It is not as if she had an easy course in life, she didn’t. She kept going, she prevailed and a hundred years later is an inspiration to an entire nation and that is a terrific thing.

END

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