The Pope has landed in the United States. His first stop will be the White House where he will be meeting with the President and First Lady in what is only the second time in history a pontiff has visited the site. He will then hit the district in the popemobile on a parade route open to the public. On Friday, the Pope will arrive in New York City where he’s scheduled to address the United Nations at the UN Headquarters. He will also be visiting Ground Zero on Sunday to offer a blessing to those who died in the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. The pomp and circumstance of his travel logistics, although minor, remains one of the more puzzling things to me about the Catholic Church (he’s allegedly scheduled to arrive at Ground Zero in a limousine with Cardinal Egan). Wouldn’t a yellow cab with a donated fare be more diplomatic?
Regardless, Pope Benedict XVI has humble roots and is remembered as claiming his desire to be a Cardinal at the age of 5. As a product of wartime Germany who turns 81 today, (happy birthday, Joseph Ratzinger), one wonders how many more Pope’s there will be who grew up in such tumultuous times. It’s no question that Nazi Germany directly informed and continues to inform his spirituality. After all, he’s known for his view of the church not being something that exists so that it can be incorporated into the world, but so as to offer a way to live in it; that it’s not a human edifice but a divinely created one; and that theology is not a dry academic exercise to depart from but something theologians should support to serve the faithful. Very – ecclesiastical totalitarianism.
So I’m curious as to how his successors, ones who grew up in more peaceful times, will change the Catholic Church in the years to come. How will their times, their childhoods in their various countries inform the Church in the world?
Tags: Catholic Church, Diplomat by Nature, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope in the US
