Archbishop Sambi: Benedict's U.S. visit "still bearing fruit in local church"

Archbishop Pietro Sambi, representative of the Pope to the United States, has explained in an interview that Benedict XVI’s successful visit is bearing fruit in the local Church and in has opened the eyes of the secular world (Catholic.org June 12, 2008):

In an interview with Gianluca Biccini, that will be published in Wednesday's edition of L'Osservatore Romano, Archbishop Sambi said that during the April 15-20 papal trip, the theme of the visit, “Christ Our Hope,” permeated all the addresses of Pope Benedict XVI.

Hope filled more than the Pope’s speeches, the archbishop said as he recalled a brief message that Benedict gave to New York Catholic Radio. Speaking to the radio audience the Holy Father said “he had come ‘to confirm you in the faith, but in truth it has also been you who have confirmed me, with your response, your enthusiasm and affection’.”

The Nuncio said that the Pope was impressed by the fact that Americans “always in difficult moments, have always turned to their churches and temples, finding in the presence of God faith, unity and courage. This people has never been separated from the Word of God: the Bible remains the book that mostly accompanies the American citizen... which continues to illuminate the most significant moments of the personal, family and national life.”

“Therefore, speaking on hope, the Pope has touched an issue deeply rooted in the history and the culture of this people, and has stricken a particularly sensitive cord in these times,” the Nuncio added.

The Archbishop also highlighted the issue of evangelization, telling L'Osservatore that, “The United States, as every country in the world, is in need of a new evangelization. It must begin at home, that is to say, at the core of the Church itself, so that Christians may rediscover the joy and the strength of being Christians.”

“The Pope,” Sambi said, “has opened the way, has given the launch signal in his speeches to the bishops, the priests and religious, the educators, the lay people, the youth: all the sectors of the Church have been called to this commitment, to be instruments of the Spirit to a new Pentecost.” ... (Read More)

John Allen Jr. interviews "The Pope's Top Man in America"

The latest edition of John Allen Jr's column "All Things Catholic" features an interview with "the pope's top man in America": Italian archbishop and veteran papal diplomat Archbishop Pietro Sambi:

Sambi showed me the nunciature's chapel, where Benedict will say Mass on the morning of April 16 before heading to the White House for a closed-door session with President George W. Bush. April 16 happens to be Benedict's 81st birthday, and as Sambi put it, the small nunciature staff "will be his family that day." . . .

The interview covers a range of familiar topics, howbeit (as John Allen's interviews usually are) much more in depth. Archbishop Sambi states the official purpose of the papal visit -- first, "to go back to the roots of the church in the United States" (to celebrate the BiCentennial); second, "to confirm his brothers and sisters in the faith" as successor of St. Peter. The third goal, according to Sambi, has to do with improving America's moral presence in the world:

[Archbishop Sambi]: ... Of course, great military, economic and political strength is very important. But you must also have solid and consistent values -- human, moral and spiritual values.

America has had many of these values, such as freedom, democracy, respect for human beings and fundamental human rights. Today, the United States exports many things around the world. What it could export more, however, are the great values that a superpower should have.

[John Allen:] You deliberately said the United States "had" these values. Are you suggesting that the country doesn't have them now?

[Archbishop Sambi]: I don't say that the United States doesn't have them anymore. Americans insist on these values even today. But you know, it's been almost 40 years now that I've been moving around the world. I've noticed everywhere I go that the youth of the world sing American songs, they dance American dances, they eat American food. They use American English as the language of the computer. They cultivate an American mentality.

If you look carefully at all this, you see that what America is exporting throughout the world, especially to the youth of this world, is not always the most noble and constructive qualities America has to offer.

Last year, Catholic columnist Robert Reilly was horrified to learn that that the United States' Voice of America radio was broadcasting Britney Spears in lieu of discussions of issues and editorials reflecting U.S. policies -- Sambi may be sympathetic to his complaint.

Nonetheless, Sambi insists that the visit has been structured in such a way as to preserve the Holy Father's detachment from American politics and the presidential campaign ("The visit should be seen and interpreted in the spirit with which the pope himself comes to the United States, and not be instrumentalized"). As to what Benedict will actually say...

In broad terms, what do you expect the pope's message will be?

There have been many failed prophets who have tried to anticipate what the pope will say here and there. I can tell you only that what the pope will say, the pope himself knows, and nobody else.

You have not seen the texts of his speeches?

No. And if I have not seen them, others have surely not seen them!

Like Benedict, Sambi is impressed with the "religiousity" of the American people -- "You have a higher share of people going to Mass here, for example, than in any country of Europe," he states. (Sambi take note -- fidelity may be a factor -- as Catholic blogger and catechist Rich Leonardi pointed out recently, Mass attendance in the Denver Archdiocese (home to Charles J. Chaput, a pillar of orthodoxy) is higher than that of the national average; conversely, Rochester, whose shepherd, Bishop Matthew Clark, serves the same weak tea as the mainline Protestant denominations. There, Mass attendance is in a free-fall, dropping almost 20 percent since 2000).

Sambi goes on to discuss a number of other familiar topics --

• the situation facing the Catholic Church in the United States (Catholics need "a clear identity, a sense of belonging, and a sense of excellence" to survive as a minority)
• the question of whether Benedict will 'read the riot act' to Catholic educators (he agrees with Allen, that "speculation about the pope reprimanding educators has been stoked by people with axes to grind")
• the war in Iraq ("[The U.S. Bishops] were not in favor of the war, but once it happened, they supported a "responsible transition" out of Iraq. We shouldn't leave the local population in an even worse situation")

By far the bulk of the interview is devoted to a painful subject -- one that the National Catholic Reporter has covered in depth:

The sex abuse crisis has been a deep trauma for the Catholic church in America. What do you expect from the Holy Father on that subject?

I expect him to say that we have to move forward from this situation, which has so humiliated the church in the United States. To move forward, we have to go back to the basic ministry of the church, which is to be representatives of Jesus Christ. Jesus asked, "Do you love me?" When the disciples said "Yes," his reply was: "Feed my sheep, take care of my lambs." Our attitude towards the faithful must be one of service -- love of God and service to our brothers and sisters. We must have the same respect for the faithful that Jesus had, who sacrificed his life for each of them.

As to the prospect of a meeting between Benedict and survivors of priestly sexual abuse, Sambi says "It's within the field of possibility, but I cannot confirm anything."

Sambi's parting words:

At the end of the day, how will the Catholic church in the United States be different because of this trip?

I would say that the church in the United States should make more and more evident a spirit of service to the faithful in the name of Jesus Christ. My experience is that where you have a parish priest who is truly dedicated to the service of his parish, the sex scandals have not produced great damages. In dioceses where the bishop is a really good pastor, at the service of the Gospel and of the faithful, the sex scandal has not had a very bad impact. The way to move forward is through a deeper spirituality in serving God and serving others. This trip will be a strong push in that direction.

Archbishop Pietro Sambi - "The Pope's U.S. Tour Guide"

The International Herald-Tribune interviews Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States and designated "tour guide" for the Pope's visit to the United States.

Sambi has some good advice for the press, and anybody wishing to get a grasp on the Holy Father:

Benedict, a former professor, is a pope who cultivates words more than dramatic gestures - in contrast to his predecessor, John Paul II. The key in this trip, the archbishop said, will be to listen to Benedict's speeches, in their entirety.

"He is not a man of blah, blah, blah," Archbishop Sambi said. "He's a thinker, and before speaking, he thinks. And he prays a lot."

The Archbishop assures the Tribune that Benedict "will not at all interfere with the electoral process. He will not meet with any of the candidates"; yet, he will likely address "issues germane to the election: poverty, the war in Iraq, abortion and euthanasia, gay marriage, environmental degradation and immigrants" -- in addition to the priestly abuse scandal that has plagued the Church since 2002:

The subject could come up at a meeting and prayer service with American bishops in Washington. It was initially billed as private, but is now open to the media. The archbishop said, "If it would have been closed-door, can you imagine the fantasy of the journalists to invent what they don't know? Better to be open."

Cardinal Bernard Law, the archbishop of Boston who resigned over his role in reassigning priests with a record of sexual abuse and is now assigned to a basilica in Rome, will not join the delegation traveling with the pope, said Sister Mary Ann Walsh, director of media relations for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Archbishop Sambi: "pope comes to strengthen faith, hope, love of US church"

Catholic News Service' Julie Asher profiles the papal nuncio Italian Archbishop Pietro Sambi, who will help celebrate the Pope's 81st birthday on April 16th.

[Archbishop Sambi] hopes the message U.S. Catholics get from the papal visit is "one of the things that the pope pronounced the first day after being elected pope: Don't be afraid. Jesus Christ takes away nothing from you, but he will enrich you." . . .

Aside from a meeting with President George W. Bush and a major U.N. address the pope will deliver April 18, the papal trip is first and foremost "a pastoral journey," said Archbishop Sambi.

The pontiff "comes to strengthen the faith, the hope and love of the Catholic Church in the United States," the archbishop said, adding that he hopes the pope's visit will "bring a new wind of Pentecost ... a new springtime" to the U.S. church.

But Pope Benedict also "will bring his friendship and his holy word to all the people of the United States," he added.

Sambi touches on the presidential election (""If there is something that is an exclusive prerogative of the Americans, it is the choice of their leaders. And the foreigners should not interfere") and speculation as to what the Pope and President Bush will discuss when they meet ("If it's private, it's private"). He does address the matter of the war:

Asked about diplomatic relations between the Vatican and the U.S. in light of the church's criticism of Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq, Archbishop Sambi replied that "the deep conviction of the Holy See is that war must be always the last option. All other options have to be tried before starting a war. A war is always a sign of human failure in reaching an agreement.

"Peace is not a defeat for anybody but is a victory for the future," he added.

And what does Archbishop Sambi think of Catholics in America?

Archbishop Sambi said the pope will find "a really alive Catholic Church" in the United States, something the nuncio has seen in his own travels around the country. . . . "I have found everywhere Catholics of excellent quality, youth, full of joy, of energy and of creativity," he said.

"Many good things are done in the Catholic Church in the United States," Archbishop Sambi said, but "as a good nuncio, I should say much more can be done to bring Jesus Christ to everybody who is thirsty for him, and to invite those who abandoned (the church) or (left because of) a decision of the church to return home."

"There is no church alive without a permanent evangelization," he continued. The church must "continuously give the word of God and the instrument of salvation," the sacraments, "to the faithful," he said.

Related links

• Pope's ambassador to host the boss on a grand stage, by Daniel Burke. Religion News Service. March 13, 2008.
• Pope's man in U.S. has won hearts all around Winston-Salem Journal. March 15, 2008.

Pietro Sambi - "Making the Pope Comfortable"

U.S. Vatican envoy prepares way for the pope - USA TODAY's Cathy Lynn Grossman profiles Archbiship Pietro Sambi, who as the Holy See's U.S. Ambassador will be lending his expertise in guiding the Pope's interactions with the American people:

WASHINGTON — Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the veteran Vatican diplomat who serves as the Holy See's U.S. ambassador, knows exactly why the world will see — but not hear — Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the bedrock at Ground Zero during the pope's first visit to the USA.

The silence is Sambi's idea.

"This will be a moment of solidarity with those who died and their families. He will walk alone to indicate the loneliness of those who went to their deaths and the loneliness of the survivors. He will light a lamp. He will pray silently and make a public prayer (the only portion to be broadcast) for the remembrance of those who died, and for peace.

"There must be only silence and prayer here because not a single word will be enough to be convincing. Nothing will be adequate to touch the loneliness of those who died there and those who lost someone. Silence and prayer are what is required."

It is Sambi's job to know what is required, spiritual or political or trivial, to make a success of the shy, scholarly pope's visit. When Benedict comes to Washington and New York April 15-20, he will be reaching out to all Americans, not only Catholics.

On the general theme for the papal visit:

"Hope is the transcendent theme. A person or a people without hope is already dead," Sambi says. "In his humble, simple, kind way, this pope is bringing us this clear message: that the way to happiness is to know that God loves you, and because God loves you, you love your neighbor."

The pope also will confront the ugly wounds of clergy sexual abuse. The scandal, which involved nearly 5,000 priests and more than 12,000 victims, rocked the nation in 2002. Settlements and legal bills have surpassed $1.5 billion.

The pope "will address this — and more than once," Sambi says.

But he does not elaborate on when or where, or whether the pope will meet with abuse victims. On that, the voluble Sambi falls diplomatically silent.

Neither will the pope say anything about the contentious U.S. presidential elections, Sambi adds.

And making the Pope comfortable in his surroundings:

The shining black Yamaha baby grand piano is tuned in case the pianist pope wants to relax playing Mozart. It stands in one of the upstairs reception rooms at the nunciature, the Vatican Embassy's home and offices, across busy Massachusetts Avenue from the vice president's residence.

If Benedict wants to take one of his twice-daily walks, Sambi has mapped out a sylvan route where birds will drown out urban clamor.

But there are no plans for the German-born pope to have Bavarian pastries for his birthday luncheon. This will be an Italian meal, Sambi says, catered by Cafe Milano, a trendy Georgetown restaurant.

It's one more taste of American life for Benedict, who keeps an astute eye on popular culture.

Related:

• The "Super-Nuncio", by Rocco Palmo. Whispers in the Loggia December 27, 2007.