Why Pope Benedict XVI came to America? 1 of 2

Why Pope Benedict XVI came to America? 1 of 2
cinops be gone Tuesday, May 20, 2008

This is a classic Commentary Column by Ray Kerrison retired as a NY Post columnist in 1998 after 22 years writing about presidential campaigns, championship fights, moon shots and horse racing, among other topics. This appeared in the Post on April 21, 2008, and from Catholic Eye, April 30/08, # 267

When the papal cavalcade rolled out of Yankee Stadium last night, one could only stand back and cry: Grand Slam!

Pope Benedict XVI came here a distant, enigmatic figure, stern and bookish. He left as everyone’s brother, gentle in nature, kind in spirit, benevolent and wise, everything a true shepherd should be.
Somehow, it all came together in Babe Ruth’s Cathedral in the Bronx, a spectacular liturgical send-off with 58,000 cheering worshippers.

The pope’s six-day pilgrimage was a triumph from beginning to end. From the moment he stepped off his plane, he embraced America with an enthusiasm that stirred the heart – and then the crowds, hundred of thousands in the streets, and millions on TV, returned the embrace. A mutual love-in.

The Methodist president, George W. Bush, set the stage and tone for this historic encounter between pope and people by extending to Benedict a White House greeting so gracious in word and ceremony no one will forget it.

But the sheer magic, nothing could compare with his reception in the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan. Rabbi Arthur Schneier received Benedict warmly, looked at him with undisguised affection and said, “The sun is shining. The heavens are rejoicing on this day.”

Unimaginable! I almost choked. Here was a Jewish rabbi whose roots come out of the Holocaust, invoking heavenly blessings on a German pope. How tender. How utterly fraternal. And how spendidly true. When men of good will meet, anything is possible.

Some say Benedict’s odyssey lacked the champagne sparkle of the late Pope John Paul II’s journeys. No wonder. No pope before Benedict ever had to visit Ground Zero with all its painful sorrows. And no modern pope ever had an assignment so humiliating in its origins.

Benedict came to America specifically to apologize for the priestly sex-abuse scandal, unprecedented in the history of the American church. The infamy of it, the embarrassment of it, was crushing.

His bishops should have done it years ago. They defaulted, so it was left to Benedict to come here and face the music. He went before 300 million Americans and, from the depth of his soul spoke of his shame and pain. He did it not once, twice or three times, but four times. (part 2 tomorrow)
George H. Kubeck, Duplicate and or translate into Spanish and Vietnamese.