Encyclical for a G8 summit

From Deborah Gyapong (CCN):

Greetings from Rome! Police are everywhere, perhaps anticipating some demonstrations coinciding with the 2009 G8 Summit, which is taking place in L’Aquila, about a 90 minute drive from the city.

We arrived last night aboard the Prime Minister's plane. It was my first time accompanying the PM on any kind of airborne jaunt, so just going aboard the dark grey airbus from the Canada Reception Centre was an adventure. There are from 30 to 40 journalists on the trip and a number of RCMP officers and personnel from the Prime Minister's office facilitating us.

Though I had filled out the forms, I did not receive accreditation for the G8, which is just as well, because once you go L’Aquila you are pretty well stuck there at the media centre until the buses start returning at the end of the day.

The media are staying at the Marriott Grand Flora, a fine hotel in a swanky part of Rome not far from the Borghese Gardens. They have a nice suite set up with Internet Access, telephones, a printer plus cold beverages and airconditioning in the hotel. That's where I am now, having just printed off Pope Benedict XVI's latest encyclical Caritas in Veritate. I am not staying here but at Casa Santa Brigida, a much more affordable convent about a 20 minute bus ride away.

Our plane got in about 10:30 p.m. Rome time. We got off the plane via a shaky staircase and waited until the Prime Minister and his family got off a similar portable staircase at the front. We could not get on our buses until after the helicopter lifted off, taking Mr. Harper to L’Aquila. Last April, a severe earthquake devastated the area, killing almost 300 people and leaving another 60,000 homeless. The Italian Prime Minister decided to hold the G8 meetings there as a sign of solidarity.

This morning, Harper toured the earthquake devasted area. He also announced a $5 million contribution towards the building of a Canadian Cetnre for youth at the University of L'Aquila.

"The people of Canada, and especially Canadians of Italian descent, are proud to stand with the people of Italy as they rebuild after this tragic disaster," Harper said in a statement. "This facility will provide students from L'Aquila , as well as those from Canada and around the world, with a place to learn and exchange ideas."

"This centre will also serve as a testament to the enduring bond of friendship between Canada and Italy.”

Italian-Canadian and Canadian businesses have also contributed to the relief efforts in the region.