"Benedict on America"

John Allen's weekly column "Benedict on America: In his own words" revisits -- and expands on -- a topic we've blogged about in the past, with plumbing additional works and interviews (Salt of the Earth and God and the World) to understand what the Pope thinks about America.

What to expect from Pope Benedict XVI

John Allen Jr. educates us (and hopefully the press) on what to expect from Benedict XVI this week:

Benedict is a calm, cerebral figure whose aim on the road is more akin to planting seeds than to making waves. He seems to want to draw people into deeper intellectual and spiritual reflection, such as pondering the proper relationship between reason and faith. The extent to which such rumination will result from this trip will be impossible to quantify right away, and it's certainly not an approach designed to galvanize swift "buzz."

During his travels, the pope also usually offers up lengthy reflections on core matters of Catholic faith and practice – the Eucharist, prayer and devotion, and the centrality of Christ. It’s worth remembering that the official motto of the visit is “Christ is our Hope,” creating a deliberately Christological context for his message.

“Pope Preaches Christ” is probably not many editors' idea of a sexy headline, but it’s likely to be the core of what Benedict himself is thinking and talking about over these six days. ...

"Shepherd One" and the absence of the in-flight press conference

John Allen, Jr. enlightens us regarding the Pope's flight to the U.S. (360 Degrees Blog, April 14, 2008):

In truth, there is no “papal plane” in the sense of a jet owned by the Vatican and used exclusively for papal travel. Instead, the pope flies on a regular commercial jet belonging to Alitalia, the Italian national airline, chartered by the Vatican for the period of a given trip. The pilots and crew are all Alitalia personnel.

Most of the passengers aboard the papal plane are actually journalists, representing a cross-section on the world’s major secular and Catholic media outlets. This time, 70 journalists are accompanying Pope Benedict to the United States, a figure which includes print reporters, TV and radio correspondents, producers, cameramen and photographers.

Journalists pay top dollar to fly with the pope – the roundtrip airfare this time is roughly $4800, comparable to a full-fare business class ticket for what usually amounts to economy class accommodations. ...

Allen also explains why, unlike the 2007 flight to Brazil, the curia have declined to hold an in-flight press conferences with the Pope:

From the outside, that might seem a curious choice, given that there’s plenty of time for a real press conference, and given that Benedict XVI is a veteran university professor who relishes intellectual give-and-take. Yet Vatican officials have long memories, and they recall well what happened on the Brazil flight. Pope Benedict answered a question about possible excommunication of pro-choice Catholic politicians in Mexico, seeming to endorse a hard-line position. That became the dominant day-one story of the Brazil trip, effectively blotting the pope’s formal message out of the sky.

This time around, it would seem that trip organizers are determined to keep the pope “on message” as he enters the world’s premier sound-bite culture.

Benedict at the U.N. - a renewal of natural law?

Benedict to the UN: In Defense of Natural Law, by Russell Shaw. InsideCatholic.com April 11, 2008:

December 10, 1948: Keep your eye on that date. It's likely to have an important symbolic role in Pope Benedict XVI's upcoming visit to the United Nations and the United States.

Religious and civic pageantry, teddy bears wearing T-shirts with papal-visit logos, and celebrity worship may be the visit's most obvious features. But people interested in something more meaty can take heart: Just keep that date in mind.

On December 10, 1948, the UN General Assembly -- meeting in Paris -- voted 48 for, 0 against, and 8 abstaining to adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The abstainers, for those who may have forgotten, were the states of the Soviet bloc, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa.

Nearing its 60th anniversary, the human rights declaration is Benedict's Exhibit A in making his case for universal moral standards as the necessary basis of world peace and justice. When circumstances permit, he links that idea to his project for the revival of natural law.

The pope seems likely again to make his argument for what he calls "common moral law" in the major address he will deliver April 18 to the UN General Assembly in New York. But it will also come as no surprise if he brings up the subject at other stops during his April 15-20 visit to Washington and New York.

* * *

John Allen Jr., speculating on Benedict's address to the U.N. Pew Forum Panel Discussion. April 1, 2008:

I think in the U.N. address you will get the kind of standard checklist of Vatican diplomatic concerns, so things like peace in the Middle East, responsible transition in Iraq, concern for religious freedom around the world – the kind of standard, global concerns that we’ve come to expect when popes speak on global policy.

But I think the heart of his pitch before the U.N. probably will cut a little bit deeper. It will be Benedict’s argument that what the world desperately needs today is a global moral consensus – that is, a consensus on fundamental moral truths that are universal and unchanging that can serve as a basis for things like protection of human rights and human dignity. I think his analysis is that in an era in which you have several important players on the world stage – China and Iran come to mind – arguing that the whole concept of human rights is a sort of Western cultural artifact, I think the pope believes that the construction of a kind of moral consensus that we can all agree upon based on truths about human nature and open to the wisdom of spiritual traditions and religious traditions is a critical priority. And I think that probably will be the heart of that speech.

"The Pope comes to America" -- John Allen, Jr. and George Weigel

Transcript: "The Pope Comes to America" Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. April 1, 2008:

Pope Benedict XVI’s first visit to the U.S. as pontiff comes amid a turbulent election year. He has planned stops at the White House, the U.N. and the Sept. 11 “Ground Zero” site. How should we assess the first three years of Pope Benedict’s papacy? How has the global role and influence of the papacy changed under this pope? How has the Vatican’s relationship with the U.S. Catholic Church changed over the years, and what is its current state? What are the political implications of this trip?

To discuss these issues, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life invited John Allen, Vatican correspondent at National Catholic Reporter and Vatican analyst for CNN and NPR, and George Weigel, distinguished senior fellow with expertise in Vatican issues at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and Vatican analyst for NBC News.

Probably the single best assessment of the Pope's visit to date, by two very knowledgeable Catholic commentators.

Well worth reading.

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.

John Allen Jr. - "Papal Travel Trivial Pursuit"

John Allen Jr. offers a wealth of historical information in his posting of Trivial Pursuit about Papal Travel in America (NCRcafe.org March 29, 2008). Did you know that Benedict XVI will become the third pope to visit the United States, but he will actually be the fourth to set foot on American territory?

... In 1849, Pope Pius IX was received aboard the USS Constitution, which happened to be anchored in Gaeta, Italy, where the pope had taken refuge after a popular uprising chased him out of Rome. Allowing the pope to come aboard was a diplomatic gaffe, since the United States was officially neutral in the struggle over the Papal States between Pius IX and Italian nationalists. Nevertheless, the captain of the Constitution, John Gwinn, invited the pontiff aboard when he arrived with King Ferdinand of Sicily for a tour.

Pius IX distributed rosaries to the Catholic sailors and gave blessings. He became seasick and took a brief rest in the captain’s chambers, then disembarked to a 21-cannon salute. Gwinn was later threatened with court-martial for the breach of protocol, but died before a trial could be held. (I owe this nugget to the book The United States and the Holy See: The Long Road, by former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See James Nicholson.)

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