Overview

The Pope was touring America past week.  In his first visit to the US, Pope Benedict XVI went on a five day tour of New York City and Washington D.C.  During the tour he met with President Bush, held mass at Yankee stadium, visited Ground Zero and blessed countless passersby.   The trip was toured as an attempt to connect with an American population that was losing trust in Catholicism and especially the new Pope.  However, since it’s not every day that the leader of a major world religion comes to town, let’s talk about what it means for the US, for the Catholic Church, and for the Benedict himself.

Key Terms and Figures

Pope Benedict XVI: Current Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.  Known for some of his famous verbal slips and PR mistakes, such as suggesting Islam was rooted in “evil and inhumane” practices.  Further, because of his age upon ascension to the papacy, 78 when he was elected three years ago, may thought he wouldn’t be Pope for long.  Because of this lackluster image, exacerbated by the fact that he lacks much of the charisma of his predecessor John Paul II, Pope Benedict sought to use this trip to make a genuine connection with American Catholics.

George Bush: One of the major points of the Pope’s visit to the United States was his meeting with George W Bush.  While there is much thought that this could be a contentious meeting, as the Pope has been critical of many elements of foreign policy.  However, the meeting was full of praise, especially from Bush for the Catholic Church’s continued strong support of pro-life politics.    It has been this social unity between Catholics and Republicans that has led to the large exodus of Catholics from the Democratic Party.  As such, this meeting signified a continuation of this alliance and the willingness of the Vatican and Republicans to work together on social issues, rather than fight on issues of policy.

Evangelicals: Another issue highlighted by the Pope’s visit was the often tenuous relationship between Catholics and evangelicals in America.  While they agree on many political stances–especially on social issues–these two prominent religious groups have been divided, even in politics, because of their different interpretations of Christianity.  As such, many evangelical leaders praised the Pope for speaking out against stem cell research, the promotion of Creationist ideas, and even lauding the fact that the Pope has made the Vatican carbon neutral.  However, others reminded that the Pope has stated that the Catholic Church is the true Christian church, and focused on the doctrinal differences between the groups.  Ultimately, while the Pope’s visit and its focus mainly on political, rather than theological issues, may help to bring together these diverging religious groups in politics, the fundamental divides between these groups may ensure that they remain divided for a while.

Major Issues

The Pope’s Image:  Initially, this trip can be seen as a partial PR victory for the Pope.  Specifically, his candid speeches gave him an element of humanity that had been missing from his US persona.   Further, it simply cannot be denied that the mere presence of the Pope will lead many to gain more favorable impressions.  This is especially important as American Catholics – including Latinos — have been leaving the faith for baptism, Pentecostalism and other protestant faiths.  Thus, Benedict’s visit to the US gave American Catholics a Pope that they could identify with.  While he is still no JP2, he now isn’t the complete caricature of an aged German clergyman that he had been.

Sex Abuse Scandal: The other major reason the Pope came to the US was to personally address the priest sex abuse scandals that have rocked American Catholicism.  The fact that the Pope apologized and admitted the error of the church has given many Americans faith of a brighter future of Catholicism.  This hope, rather than anger and guilt, may be the step that the church needed to heal.  Further, the fact that the Pope himself finally apologized suggests that the church is finally taking this issue seriously after years of cover-ups.   However, that is not to say that the issue is now dealt with in completion. With the Pope’s visit also came dozens of new allegations of abuse nationwide; media coverage often forces new cases to come forward.  Thus while the Pope’s visit sought to heal the wounds, it also brought other old injuries to light that Americans must now deal with in both private and public view.

Global Reaction: While the majority of the Pope’s trip was image restoration for himself and the church, his stop at the United Nations was a little more aggressive.  In the halls of the UN, the Pope criticized technology compromising creation and global rejection of multilateralism.  He also called for clearer, more concrete, definitions of human rights.  In many ways the criticism many speculators thought that the Pope would lodge at Bush were instead put out on the global stage, allowing the Pope to commit to his political agenda without alienating Americans or their leader.

Sample Questions
Should Pope Benedict XVI have been more critical of the Bush administration?
How can Catholicism create a political alliance with evangelicals?
Was the Pope’s apology of sexual abuse scandals enough?
How can Democrats win back Catholic voters?
What further steps can Pope Benedict XVI take to improve his image in America?