- Article
- Comments ()
- Videos
Pope Benedict XVI's six-day visit to the United States ended last night with all the gala and pomp of a Yankee Stadium Mass to tens of thousands, but the six-day trip will have its greatest impact in the pope's words and deeds on the sex-abuse scandal that has engulfed the church in the United States.
Observers of his first visit as head of the world's 1 billion Catholics have unanimously praised his multiple apologies for the priestly sex-abuse crisis that shattered the confidence of many Catholic laity in their church. And on the third day of his visit, the pope stunned the world by meeting secretly with five victims of sexual abuse from Boston, the archdiocese at the epicenter of the crisis since 2002.
"Frankly, it shows that he gets it," said the Rev. Thomas Reese, senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University. "He realized he couldn't just mention it once and move onto other things."
The abuse crisis "had become a wound on the body of the church," he continued. "It had been stitched up but not completely healed. I think he recognized it."
The few short days also saw Benedict earn an almost adoring reaction from an American public not sure what to expect from a man who had been the Vatican's chief doctrinal watchdog, overseeing the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the successor office to the Papal Inquisition.
NEWS ANALYSIS:
"From the moment he arrived at Andrews Air Force Base, he had this warm, open smile," Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl said last night. "He seemed to be embraced by everyone everywhere he went. He had some quality allowing him to touch people's hearts."
The pope's welcoming demeanor — a stark contrast to the widespread caricature of him as the "God's Rottweiler" — won over non-Catholics as well.
"Jewish leaders liked his candor, his warmth, his friendly manner and his willingness to work with the Jewish community on any issues that might arrive," said Gunther Lawrence, the founder of the Interreligious Information Center in Port Washington, N.Y., who attended an interfaith meeting in Washington with the pope Thursday night.
"People thought he'd be hard-nosed," said the Rev. Giacomo Capoverdi, a priest from Rhode Island. "But he came in a gentle and pastoral manner and humbly presented himself."
But it was on the sexual-abuse scandal where Benedict cut the most distinctive figure, acting in stark contrast to those of John Paul II, who rarely mentioned the crisis in public — which involved the sexual abuse of 12,000 victims since 1950, mostly boys in their teens or pre-teens — and never met with victims.
Post a comment
There are comments on this article, submit your opinion!
Please login or register to post a comment