THE POPE IS COMING!
Bishop Paul S. Coakley
THE POPE is coming to America! By now, many Americans and certainly most Catholic American realize that next week Pope Benedict XVI is making his first visit as pope to the United States. He will be in Washington, D.C. and New York City from April 16 through April 20.
The pope, who will turn eighty-one years old during his visit, will have an exhausting agenda! During this historic trip Pope Benedict will meet with President Bush at the White House, address the delegates of United Nations and visit with leaders of other Christian communities and world religions.
HE COMES TO THIS GREAT and powerful nation as a moral voice for peace, respect for human rights and greater understanding among cultures. The whole world will be watching. Pundits, politicians as well as the secular and religious media will be parsing every address and papal gesture looking for a story, which all too often will probably be sensationalized and used by many to advance their own predetermined agendas.
But Pope Benedict’s visit is first and foremost a pastoral visit. He comes as our shepherd, the leader of the Catholic Church, to strengthen the faith of his brothers and sisters. He will speak to us, encourage us, challenge us and teach us. He will celebrate Mass with the faithful; meet with bishops, youth, seminarians and many others, including leaders in Catholic education. This joyful visit will be the occasion of a tremendous outpouring of grace for the Church in the United States.
In a culture that celebrates the celebrity of rock stars and wealthy athletes, why would we have such exuberant expectations about the visit of this eighty-one year old man? Admittedly, it is not just the man, but whom and what he represents. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says this about the pope: “The Lord made St. Peter the visible foundation of his Church. The bishop of the Church of Rome, successor to St. Peter, is ‘head of the college of bishops, the Vicar of Christ and Pastor of the universal Church on earth.’” (CCC 936) The pope is Christ’s visible representative among us! He is the source of the unity of the bishops and the whole Church. He is our teacher and spiritual father.
AS BISHOP of the Diocese of Salina, which the Holy Father has entrusted to me as your servant and shepherd, I will be traveling to Washington to express our profound affection and esteem for Pope Benedict as well as our communion with him. Please pray with me that this pastoral visit to the United States will strengthen our experience of communion and solidarity with the universal Church and be for us, in the Diocese of Salina, an occasion of grace and renewal.