Cardinal O'Malley - Benedict's visit will be a "call for reconciliation and healing"

In an interview with the Boston Herald, Cardinal O'Malley addresses Benedict's visit and the clergy abuse crisis:

“The mistakes of the past must be avoided,” O’Malley told the Herald yesterday, four days before he will leave to greet Benedict in Washington , D.C. “I’m sure the Holy Father’s message will be along those lines . . . a call for reconciliation and for a desire to bring people together and to call people to healing.” [...]

Some speculated that Benedict isn’t visiting Boston because it would shine a spotlight on that ugly scandal, but O’Malley said Benedict’s age and the sheer number of requests he receives played more of a role.

O’Malley said he has no doubt Benedict will address that painful chapter in American Catholicism.

“The Holy Father is very aware of the situation in the United States . . . so I was certain that whether he came to Boston or not, he would certainly address this very important issue,” he said. “He knows our situation, our pastoral needs, so of course he would want to speak to us about these very important issues in our lives.”

Why Pope Benedict won't be visiting Boston in April

"By omitting the Boston archdiocese from his planned trip to the US in April, the Holy Father upset expectations. But he has good reason to avoid it," says Catholic World Report's Philip F. Lawler, in A shrewd move: why Pope Benedict won't be visiting Boston in April.

Why Did The Pope Skip Boston?

According to Time's Jeff Israely, Some critics are already speculating as to why the Pope is skirting the "Ground Zero" of the American Catholic sex abuse crisis:

Boston was where the first spiral of revelations from victims of abusive clerics began to emerge, and where the head of the Archdiocese, Cardinal Bernard Law, was eventually forced to resign after admitting that he'd protected a priest who he knew had sexually abused young members of his church.

Several activist groups that speak out on behalf of victims of priest sex abuse immediately criticized the exclusion of the city from the Pope's April 15-20 trip. According to a statement by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), Benedict is missing a "golden opportunity" to confront the crisis head-on. Victims' activist Anne Barrett Doyle told the Agence France Presse that the Pope is avoiding Boston for fear of protests.

Father Thomas Reese disagrees:

. . . other factors were key to Benedict's choice to limit his trip to just two cities. The original purpose of the trip was to speak at the United Nations, as both Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II did. Benedict wanted to extend the stay and visit the nation's capital as well, but never intended the trip to be a U.S. tour. "The choice of Washington and New York was preordained," Reese says. "If they went to a third diocese, everyone else would say 'why didn't you come to us?'"

Reese defends Benedict's record on the abuse scandal, pointing out that he worked to respond to the crisis when he was a senior Vatican Cardinal. Some mention of the scandal is expected, but don't expect it to be the focus on his trip to the States. "Will he give a whole speech on sex abuse crisis? I doubt it," Reese says.

That isn't stopping some in the mainstream media from racheting up the bile, however:

• Pope to visit US amid anger over pedophile priests AFP November 13, 2007.
• Report: Pope Snubbing Boston Over Abuse Scandal ABC News / Boston. November 13, 2007.

Boston Bypassed!

Pope will bypass Boston in US visit, by Michael Paulson. Boston Globe November 13, 2007:

BALTIMORE - Pope Benedict XVI will visit New York and Washington next spring, but will not come to Boston, the Vatican's top diplomat in the United States announced yesterday. . . .

The decision is a disappointment for Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, who had pushed hard for Benedict to visit Boston, which will be celebrating its bicentennial as a Catholic diocese next year. O'Malley had spoken with the pope several times to press the invitation and had spoken with Vatican officials in Rome and Washington. He said that he believed Boston was seriously considered, but that Vatican officials were concerned about overtaxing the pontiff, who is 80.

"I'm disappointed, because I think we had a chance, but I'm just glad the Holy Father is coming to the United States - I think it's very important that he do that - and I was glad that we got a hearing anyway," O'Malley said [...]

O'Malley, who said he was informed of the decision by Vatican officials yesterday morning, added that he would push for a trip to Boston if Benedict were to visit the United States again. O'Malley said he does not believe Boston's role as the epicenter of the sexual abuse crisis was a major factor in the Vatican's decision.