A few thoughts on Pope Benedict XVI’s recent trip to the US other than:
- Did they sell beer at the concession stands at Yankee Stadium during Mass?
- The First Commandment forbids the worship of idols, before the Lord. If that’s the case why did Kelly Clarkson appear before the Pope’s address in Yonkers?
Those are my only attempts at humor in this blog, so if you’re looking for something funny to read, STOP, although I was going to say something about the Pope’s inspiring interactions with the handicapped (both the children and the President) but I will not include that. (Oops, I just did)
The Pope certainly touched a lot of young and old Catholics and non-Catholics alike during his extraordinary visit. He seems like a courageous, dedicated, intelligent and peaceful leader. His efforts to address the most serious of issues, the abuse scandal, and to reach out directly to the abuse victims and his interaction with the handicapped children were the most memorable for me. Also, his trips to Ground Zero and the White House symbolizes how strong his efforts are in achieving Peace in the world.
My only beef is, why are US papal visits so infrequent? This is only the third pope to visit the US. My research indicates that John Paul II was last here in 1999 (30 hours in St. Louis), he made other quick stops (layovers in Alaska in 1981 and 1984, UN address in 1995, quick meetings in 1979 and 1987). It appears his only extended visit was 1993’s appearance at World Youth Day in Denver. Previous to John Paul II, Paul VI visited only once in 1965 (UN address).
I don’t think we deserve special treatment, but in a world in which the US has such a huge influence, in a time when US vocations are at an all-time low, and in a time when scandal was rampant in the US church, I believe that a more frequent visible presence with the type of interaction he had with the faithful, will go a long, long way. In a society where religion is sometimes put on the back burner, it was great to see it spotlighted. The US does in fact have the third largest Catholic population and based upon the numbers below, it is striking that a Pope from North or South America has never been chosen. Thank you Pope Benedict for your inspirational visit and “y’all come back now, ya hear”.
Top 10 Nations with Most Catholics
|
Nation |
Percent |
Number of |
|
Brazil |
86.50% |
134,818,000 |
|
Mexico |
95.30 |
86,305,000 |
|
USA |
26.00 |
~61,000,000 |
|
Philippines |
83.60 |
58,735,000 |
|
Italy |
97.20% |
55,599,000 |
|
France |
82.10 |
47,773,000 |
|
Spain |
94.20 |
36,956,000 |
|
Poland |
95.40 |
36,835,000 |
|
Colombia |
91.90 |
32,260,000 |
|
Argentina |
90.70 |
31,546,000 |
|
Germany |
34.80 |
28,403,000 |
nagafooki said
Only 26% of the US is catholic.
What a colossal waste of money to bring 81 year old Joey Ratzinger to say prayers in Yankee stadium. Not too shaby for a punk from Bavaria but with so many financial issues with the US Catholic Church I am just not digging this whole thing. The boss does need to show up for work once in a while but I just don’t get a great feeling about the whole thing. Kind of like when the Company President flies in on a private plan with an entourage and spends 5 minutes visiting your office and the whole time you are thinking how we are working to control expenses and he/she still has a private plane!
He is an interesting character though. Kind of like an agitator in hockey he gets under the skin of the muslims. Check this out:
“Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached”
The pope actually said that!
Man, can you imagine what Yankee stadium would have sounded like if he said that there? A city that was devasted in the name of Islam.
I am imagining a Brave Heart moment with the pope on a horse yeilding a sword riding across the infield whipping the NY’ers into a bloodlust yelling out:
“Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached”
“Well, Muhammed..here is my sword and now I am doing the preaching! NY City has a message for you!”
That would have been awesome!
Set the controls for the heart of the Sun Pope Benedict the Destroyer. Lead us into battle.
maryt4905 said
I was very non-commital about my reaction to the Pope making an appearance here. My Mom was always sort of “anti-Pope”, the idea being that why does he live in such oppulent surroundings and then expect us to “feed the poor” and pay for the nuns and priests retirement. I agree that there seems to be some inequity so except for the “once in a lifetime idea” (my same feeling for having to go to the Ice Bowl) I watched some of his visit. I was very surprised that he continually expressed his horror for the Priest sex scandals-against the advice of the closest of his entourage. I love that he insisted on children being involved, because without them there will be no Church for the Pope to run . But Saturday afternoon as I watched him gently and sincerely Bless and shake hands with and hug those among us who need it most, I was won over.They could have done without the souvenier Pope flags and bobble heads and no, it doesn’t make up fpr him parading in a Pope-moblie or the infamous “Shepard 1″ he flies around with, but as Jesus said, “there will always be poor among us” I guess his life style would have no bearing on the worlds.masses except if he inspires a few of us to carry on God’s work, not with swords.
PS not nice mocking out Bush Barry.
nagafooki said
Wow this blog died a quick death.
Jumped the Shark!
rockbill said
His predecessor was the “traveling Pope” and covered more miles than all previous popes combined. I don’t imagine that we will see anything like him again soon.
Yes, it was probably a good visit for the American church. Especially the meetings that Barry mentioned, and that he also took the bishops to the woodshed for mismanaging the sexual abusers and victims.
In NY they assessed each parish to cover the cost of the trip. In DC, at least the Cardinal had the smarts to hit up a few wealthy donors to finance the whole thing.
I enjoyed reading in the NY Times about the pastor who refused his guaranteed Mass pass because hardly anyone else in his parish got one. Of course, there was also the fact that he could not find any other priest to cover the Masses that day. Why did they need 600 priests at Yankee Stadium on a Sunday to distribute Communion when there are so many extraordinary Eucharistic ministers? If this was not an “extraordinary” situation, then what is? Couldn’t Ben loosen up the rules a bit? It’s not like the Vatican where we have more priests than we know what to do with.
Don Burtless said
i’m all for people from different countries coming to america in good terms. anytime we can increase the opening of dialog with other nations is considered a good thing. we need more popes, Dali lama’s, presidents etc to visit this country and talk about doing good things to help others.
I’m just glad he didn’t run into bill mahr while he was here.