Some years ago the Pope was visiting Australia as part of a world tour.
On a day when he had a few hours to spare he asked if he could be shown one of the famous beaches, so his hosts took him to a beautiful, secluded beach on the south coast.
As the Pope and his entourage were walking along the pristine sand, a sudden commotion in the water caught everyone’s attention—a man wearing an All-Black top was seen to be swimming furiously towards shore, with a great white shark in hot pursuit.
Just as it appeared that the Kiwi was about to be torn to pieces by the shark, a motor boat carrying four men wearing green and gold rounded the point.
They ran their boat directly at the shark and stabbed it with grappling hooks just before the shark reached the Kiwi. They then carefully lifted the man from the water and gently placed him on the bottom of their boat before turning the boat to go around the point again, with the dead shark in tow.
The Pope asked his entourage to get their attention—he wanted to talk to these heroic Aussies who had rescued a foreigner, and an New Zealander at that, from certain death.
As requested, the Aussies turned their boat towards shore, and glided gently up on the sand next to where the Pope was standing.
His Holiness was effusive in his praise, saying that he had heard about possible bad relations between Australians and New Zealanders, but that their prompt action was an inspiration to all mankind, showing how people could live in peace and harmony, and selflessly help each other when help was needed.
After the Pope and his entourage left, one of the Aussies asked: ‘Who the heck was that?’
One of his mates replied: ‘That was the Pope. He has direct communication with God, and knows all there is to know about doctrinal matters’.
‘Well’, said his companion, ‘He knows stuff all about shark fishing, tho.
Anyway, is that bait still all right, or do we need to get another one?’
