American Catholic-US Papal Visit

This special AmericanCatholic.org blog focuses on Pope Benedict XVI’s religious pilgrimage to the United States from April 15 – 20, 2008. Susan Hines-Brigger and John Feister, assistant editors of St. Anthony Messenger Magazine, will be reporting here before and after and on the scene during the historic visit of the Holy Father with their unique perspectives and insightful reporting.

The Face of Christ

Here's a late post, from one of the highlights of this papal visit. The event was Saturday, the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the chapel of St. Joseph Seminary, in Yonkers, where he had a brief encounter with disabled children and their parents. The media who were lucky enough to cover this small, but deeply significant venue started at 7 am, with screening by the Secret Service—security has been a major element of all media coverage of the papal events. After that, amidst the usual confusion of multiple groups beng launched to various venues, we boarded a bus and headed for St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers. We arrived at about noon—already it had been an ordeal! We were fed a simple, packed lunch and led to our locations. The event I as covering was to happen at 4:30 p.m.; at about 12:30 we were escorted up to the choir loft at the St. Joseph’s chapel and told to wait patiently. Luckily the talented St. Patrick’s choir soon began its final rehearsal for the visit. This youth choir, consisting of students of all ages from across Manhattan, was incredible. On an escorted trip down the stairs and aross the chapel hall to the restroom, several of us were allowed to stop and talk to some families of disabled children who were waiting to enter the chapel. I learned that folks were chosen to meet the pope by various means from acoss the archdiocese. Some were active in parish catechetical programs or schools; others were served by various institutions connected to Catholic Charities and others.

About an hour before the Pope’s arrival children and their parents began taking their places in the chapel. There were children with various disabilities, taking places facing the center aisle, in monastic-style seating placements. A renowned deaf choir, in brilliant red robes, took its placein the sanctuary. Then, right on schedule, we could hear a roar of cheers from the hallway downstairs. The papal party had arrived. Children and their parents, and choir members in the sanctuary, began taking snapshots—we could tell that the Pope was heading up the aisle.

Then he came into the view of the choirloft, some 20 feet from us, at the closest point. He slowly made his way to the front of his small chapel in a moving scene of warm touches and embraces with each of the children that he could reach—one at a time, all the way to the front. It was a most magnificent moment, when the pomp and circumstance of a papal procession gave way to a vivid display of human compassion. Here was the supposed creature of the Ivory Tower,the allegedly remote and harsh Joseph Ratzinger, stopping to hug a child with multiple disabilities, leaning over to hear the comments of a girl with cerebral palsy, rubbing the face of a child who had fallen asleep in her wheelchair, warmly smiling, warmly embracing the parents and caretakers as he passed.

Two perky representative students stepped forward and offered Benedict a present, which he received gratefully. There was a short prayer service, (including the presentation of a hymn in sign language!) then the master of ceremonies prompted the Holy Father to take his leave. He complied, though he hadn’t delivered his address. The priests, bishops and pope must have all talked after he processed out, because not a minute later did he process back in again! He worked his way through the small assembly again, catching up with those whom he had missed the first time. Then he gave short address, processed out, amidst hugs and snapshots, and went on to the youth rally that had been ongoing on the seminary grounds all day.

 

The Mass at Yankee Stadium

The crowd started gathering early in the morning at Yankee Stadium, even as the Pope was speaking at Ground Zero. By early afternoon, sophisticated programs of entertainment were underway, including performances by men and women and soloists, as well as youth choirs and bands, performing for a packed stadium. It was a professional-show, coordinated by a producer brought in from Los Angeles, according to a source among the media. The stage was set up around the infield with the center of action—and ultimately the presider’s seat, in this case a papal throne of sorts, at about Second Base. Ribbons of varying colors throughout the afternoon emanated from a papal seal, over the pitcher’s mound. Mass got underway around 2:30, and at about 3:20, after welcoming comments by Cardinal Egan, the pope delivered a substantial homily, directed at the Church in the United States.

Benedict, in addition to congratulating the vitality of the Church in the United States, hit on some of his key themes. One of them was the inherent conflict between democracy, which he praised deeply, and “authority and obedience,” which he commented about: “to be frank, these are not easy words to speak nowadays.” He implored his listeners to the “self-surrender which is part of the mystery of love,” in the interest of “real freedom.”

Then, after more congratulations to the genius of the principles founding the original set of dioceses after Baltimore—New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Bardstown (moved to Louisville)., he dug into his challenging themes. More than a moment of gratitude for graces received, he said, this event is a “summons to move forward with firm resolve…in order to build a future of hope.”

He spoke of building “settings of hope,” quoting his recent encyclical, praying “thy Kingdom come” in a way connected to everyday life. That prayer, he said, means, “rejecting a false dichotomy between faith and political life,” he said, quoting the Fathers of Vatican II. He applauded the Church in America for its “prophetic witness in defense of life, in eduction of the young, in care of the poor, the sick and the stranger in your midst.” On these solid foundations, he said, “the Church in America must even now begin to rise!”

When Benedict mentioned again the Church’s defense of the unborn, and the crowd erupted into applause. Then he made an appeal to young people, whom we had engaged so energetically at the youth rally yesterday, to consider vocations to the priesthood and to religious life, and the crowd applauded, heartily, again. At the end of his homily, the pope himself broke into a smile. Then he delivered a short summary of his talk in Spanish, which was welcomed with another round of applause, and a warm smile from Benedict. When he got to his vocations line, there was more applause, and there was sustained applause at the end. Clearly his words, though challenging in many ways, were, nonetheless, warmly received.

 

Remembering a Tragedy

This morning in Manhattan, the morning haze above is accompanied by a steady breeze at ground level—a cold front has come through since yesterday, and it’s jacket weather again. At the site of the former World Trade Center, people assemble and wait. On schedule, the white Mercedes-Benz popemobile pulls onto the ramp over the pit where the remains of the World Trade Center are yielding to the dreams of new construction. The pope arrives, accompanied by Cardinal Egan, walks a few feet from his vehicle, and drops to his knees in prayer at a prie dieu, before a paschal candle that is in a small, temporary shrine on a platform at the site of the former World Trade Center. The candle is at the head of a small square pool of water, deeply symbolic, clearly, to Catholics, reminiscent of a baptismal font. Here is the mystery of death and life, symbolically placed before the world as the Pope visits the scene of tragedy. The pope’s personal, quiet prayer had seemed to be cut short—would Pope John Paul II have prayed longer, in spite of the program? This pope seemed to want to, but honored the requests of the program planners.

Benedict seems a little less formal this morning, wearing a simple white coat, open at the neck (unlike the full papal robes,). Beneath the coat beneath is an off-white shirt with Roman collar. He lights the paschal candle after several attempts—the wind keeps extinguishing the lighter. After few minutes, the candle is lit, but it won’t stay lit for long. He prays aloud a brief, but substantial prayer: “…God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world: peace in the hearts of all men and women and peace among the nations of the earth…God of understanding…we seek your light and guidance as we confront such terrible events….” He includes the remembrance of the victims at the Pentagon and those in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

He takes off his glasses for a moment, then offers a traditional Catholic blessing, “…May he look upon you with kindness and give you his peace…” he prays, as he blesses those gathered, sprinkling them with holy water. Then he returns to prayer, standing, before receiving, one by one, a line of those representing the victims of September 11, 2001. A cellist, who had played before the pope arrived, begins to play again. One police officer is limping; the pope pays special attention to him. There are women and men, survivors and family member of victims, whom the pope exchanges comments, clearly sharing compassionately. He clasps the hands of each, as they come to him in turn. His face is kind to each person, as he listens. He blesses himself at the end, and returns to the popemobile, to the mournful tones of the cello. The popemobile is perhaps not such a joyful vehicle on this occasion, as it slowly progresses across the ramp flanked by many flags, including the Vatican flag, the United States flag, state of New York, various civil agencies, and so on. In the end those who have met the pope are seen examining the boxes that the pope had handed to them. Finally there is a slow egress across the bridge. Those few who had met with the pope remain behind for a small presentation by the archdiocese of a taper, a small cross forged from World Trade Center steel, and a boxed memento, and a chance to kneel at the pope’s prie-dieu, before the paschal candle, a whisper a prayer or two.

Herald of Hope

Saturday morning started Pope Benedict’s fourth year as pope, and with crowds gathering on the streets surrounding Manhattan's St. Patrick’s Cathedral in the early daylight hours. I walked those lines early in the morning, meeting those who had been lucky enough to get tickets on the Internet. I even ran into a group of Franciscan friars from Holy Name Province, based here in Manhattan! In the blocks-long line, the sense of hope and expectation were palpable: the pope has made a big impression here in New York. If people had feared that he would be academic and distant, those fears receded in the face of a warm, grandfatherly figure. Here is the 81-year-old pope, bouncing with energy, warmly smiling, intelligently challenging his flock of faithful and those of good will outside of his flock. He is not “God’s Rottweiler”—as so many had caricatured Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

In his homily at St. Patrick’s, he used the magnificent Gothic architecture of the building as a lesson in the state of the Church. In a Church that many perceive as legalistic and institutional, he said, “Our most urgent challenge,” he said, “is to communicate the joy born of faith and the experience of God’s love. He referred to the magnificent stained-glass windows of St. Patrick’s as reminders of the “mystery of the Church herself,” this “mystery of light.”

The gothic architects, he noted, planned things to demonstrate how God “orders the cosmos with infinite wisdom and purpose.” Then he spoke of the Church today, still suffering from divisions in the Church that followed Vatican II. “For all of us,” he said, those divisions “were one of the great disappointments which followed the Second Vatican Council.” Yet was not unity of vision and purpose, he asked “the secret of the impressive growth of the Church in this country?” He implored the faithful to look to the future, to “hear what the Spirit is saying to us,” to move together “towards that true spiritual renewal desired by the Council.”

He mentioned again the sexual abuse crisis, asking the Church to “respond with Christian hope,” praying that this will be a “time of purification” and a “time for healing.” May the Lord grant the Church in America, he prayed, a renewed sense of unity and purpose, as all—bishops, clearly, religious and laity—move forward in hope, in love for the truth and for one another."

He closed his reflection with another reflection of the Gothic cathedral as a place of “unity born of the dynamic tension of diverse forces…” In the end, he said, “let us go froth as heralds of hope….In this way, the Church in America will know a new springtime in the Spirit….”

A Challenging Call to Unity

The ecumenical service at a historic German parish, the Church of St. Joseph, was the occasion for a substantial talk by Pope Benedict XVI on the shared truth of Christianity. The 30-minute-ecumenical service was marked by hymns, a reading from Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, and greetings to the pope by various leaders of Christian communities in the United States.

    In his talk, the pope acknowledged the Christian unity of those gathered, and noted that St. Paul’s challenge toward unity to the Ephesians is no less true for us today. Then the pope noted some troubling trends in modern times, saying that “globalization has humanity poised between two poles.” On the one hand, he said, there is more interconnectedness and interdependency, even among people far from each other geographically. “On the other hand,” he said, “we cannot deny that the rapid changes occurring in our world also present some disturbing signs of fragmentation and a retreat into individualism.” He noted that electronic communications, paradoxically, "sometimes have resulted in greater isolation.”

The pope also decried the spread of a “secularist ideology that undermines or even rejects transcendent truth.” Divisions among Christians, he added, create among non-Chiristians, “confusion about the Gospel message itself.” He challenged those listening to consider whether or not the full force of the Gospel message has not been weakened by a “relativistic approach;” and over-dependence upon personal experience.

Ultimately, his was an appeal to “sound teaching” and “sound doctrine” as ways to defend the truth, that will enable us to “respond to the challenges that confront us in an evolving world.” All this he said in a friendly and pastoral manner, encouraging those listening that “this is the message which the world is waiting to hear from us.” He pleaded for prayer as the way towards unity within the ecumenical movement, and for placing trust in God alone to achieve, “oneness of hope, oneness of faith, and oneness of love.”

The pope seemed energetic even as he concluded this last public event of an event-packed day. He left the parish for a dinner with the U.S. cardinals, and, no doubt, a good night's rest.

An Unexpected Visit

The pope added a stop on his itinerary today: a brief, but significant, visit at historic Park East Synagogue. In the exchange of gifts and goodwill between the Holy Father and Rabbi Arthur Schneier, the day before Passover, there was a statement of goodwill offered and accepted between the Roman Catholic Church and Judaism. This is especially important in the wake of confusion surrounding the papal permission to use the language of the pre-Vatican II liturgy in the Good Friday Mass, language that had particular negative references toward Judaism.

The Rabbi gave to the Holy Father  a Seder plate, and the Holy Father in turn gave Rabbi Schneier a framed, rare Hebrew manuscript that the Rabbi said he and the Jewish community will cherish. Said Rabbi Shneier, “We thank God for having spared us to witness this great occasion….Your visit today at pesch is a historic visit that will be recorded forever.” The rabbi called the pope’s visit—the first visit of a pope to a U.S. synagogue, a “witness to your historic effort to improve relations.” At the end of his visit, young people brought to the pope a box of maztah, which the pope said he would eat tomorrow night: “Think about it!” Rabbi Schneier told those gathered—a reminder of the importance of tomorrow, the beginning of Passover. On his way to greet various members of the Jewish community gathered, Pope Benedict waved his fingers at the children’s choir, and then stopped to visit with them on his way toward adults lining his way to the exit.

Benedict at the United Nations

Pope Benedict XVI was obviously an important visitor to the United Nations on this Friday, April 18, 2008. It was the fourth time a pope has addressed this assembly, the first being the historic address by Pope Paul VI on the Feast of St. Francis (October 4) in 1965, and the following two being by Pope John Paul II in 1979 and 1995. Today Pope Benedict spoke in the tradition of his predecessors, calling to mind their support of the United Nations as, in the words of John Paul II, “the center for harmonizing the actions of nations.”

The Holy Father’s themes today, though they repeated the need the global solidarity and justice, the reduction of global inequalities—all addressed as early as Pope Paul VI—also struck some new ground. Today the pope talked also about two themes that are increasingly urgent in today’s world: environmentalism, and the need to harmonize ethics closely with scientific research, especially in the areas of reproduction. This part of his address in French, the language of diplomacy, was translated as follows: “Notwithstanding the enormous benefits that humanity can gain, some instances of this represent a clear violation of the order of creation, to the point where not only is the sacred character of life contradicted, but the human person and the family are robbed of their natural identity. Likewise, international action to preserve the environment and to protect various forms of life on earth must not only guarantee a rational use of technology and science, but must also rediscover the authentic image of creation.”

He addressed in a special way the groundbreaking 60^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, perhaps the most significant of achievements for the United Nations. The pope observed that this Declaration is discerned from Natural Law, which holds the fundamental dignity of the human person as a God-given right, a concept that goes centuries back into Christian tradition. He called for the linking of modern situations to the fundamental insights of religious understanding, expressed by followers of many faiths.

He also repeated an oft-recognized call from the Catholic Church—the fundamental right of religious liberty. He ended his talk with a reference to his recent encyclical, Christ Our Hope, a call for every generation to engage anew in, “the arduous search for the right way to order human affairs.” That is why the Church is happy to be associated with the UN, he said. Reminiscent of his beloved predecessor, Pope John Paul II, he concluded with greetings in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and Russian: “Peace and prosperity, with God’s help.”

Arriving at the U.N.

Here's a "live report" that I wrote as the morning events unfolded:

The papal helicopter is landing at the heliport at the United Nations now, flanked by other helicopters serving as decoy, transport for other members of the party, and no doubt armed protection for this sensitive diplomatic mission. The Brooklyn skyline looms in the background. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomes the pope and brings him into a gathering of various dignitaries, including Bishop Celestino Migliore, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations. This year, the 60^th anniversary of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this pope will have much to say on the dignity of the human person. A private meeting will precede his 11:30 a.m. address.

The Pope Arrives in the Big Apple

I’m in the media center the Sheraton New York, on Broadway, in midtown Manhattan, watching the Alitalia plane carrying Pope Benedict XVI land at JFK International Airport. The bands have been warming up for a brief welcome ceremony, then the pope will board a helicopter and be whisked off to to the United Nations, where he will speak later this morning. At the UN, the pope will strike on themes of peace and of justice, on the need for dialogue, and on the constructive way that the people of many faiths can engage in the dialogue of our times.

There is a palpable feeling of excitement here in New York City, anticipating the papal arrival. Traffic is being re-routed, and the local news stations are abuzz with stories of the local angles—the people who made the papal throne for the Mass at Yankees stadium, the various other venues where the pope will be, and especially the pope’s outreach yesterday to the victims of clergy sexual abuse.

This pope is a teacher—a group of journalists with whom I had dinner last night commented that they would need to study his speech texts to report well on his message. That’s a bit in contrast to the late Pope John Paul II, the man of stage presence, whose very presence was filled with drama and became the subject of much of the reporting. More later. -- JF

America Meet Benedict

The media center is abuzz with the news that Pope Benedict met this afternoon with five victims of clergy sex abuse from the Boston area. According to the Vatican, the pope and Boston Cardinal Sean P. O' Malley met at the apostolic nunciature with "a small group of persons who were sexually abused by members of the clergy." You can read more about the meeting by clicking here.

The pope certainly has not shyed away from the topic of the sex-abuse crisis while he's been here in the U.S. He spoke of it before boarding the plane for the trip, at the Basilica last night in a meeting with the bishops and today during his homily at Nationals Park.

The surprised response the meeting evoked for some underscored my belief that I don't think Americans have given the pope much of a chance from the get go. In one of my earlier posts, I said that Pope Benedict had big shoes to fill in following John Paul II. Extrovert versus introvert. Actor versus professor. On any given day, guess who people are going to be drawn to more. No, I don't think we have allowed this pope to be comfortable in his own shoes--or accepted him for that person.

But I think he's getting there. Watching him the past couple of days and when he entered the Catholic University of America just a while ago he's looking more and more comfortable as pope. As he faced the crowd he wore a huge grin and wiggled his fingers as he waved. At Nationals Park he leaned out the window of the popemobile to wave to the crowd as he drove around the field. Yes, at times he still looks a bit overwhelmed by all the attention, but he seems much more comfortable than he did when he was first elected. I think that if this visit has done anything, it has introduced Pope Benedict to the United States--and us to him.