54 • BENEDICT XVI BENEDICT XVI • 55 As Vicar of Christ, Benedict XVI set his hand to the plow with his usual pastoral diligence. After the reports of clerical abuse in 2002, the American bishops had begun a major process of reform under the guidance of the then-prefect of the CDF. To express his closeness to the American bishops in their time of trial, and to exhort them in the continuing work of truth, justice, and repentance, Benedict XVI joined them in April 2008 for the celebration of the bicentennial of the erection of the dioceses of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Louisville. The second purpose of the apostolic journey was for the pope to speak at the United Nations for the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.63 After first meeting with President George W. Bush, the pope met with the American bishops at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. In his exhortation, he reminded the American bishops that their Catholic community is one of the largest and most influential in the world, making the witness they give all the more crucial. He asked how a bishop can lead his people to encounter the living God. “Is it consistent to profess our beliefs in church on Sunday, and then during the week to promote business practices or medical procedures contrary to those beliefs? Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted. Only when their faith permeates every aspect of their lives do Christians become truly open to the transforming power of the Gospel.”64 Finally, in a nod to John Paul II, he exhorted them to take a particular interest in the family, and to be close to the many victims of clerical abuse. After meeting with educators at the Catholic University of America and, on the eve of Passover, with representatives of the Jewish community, the pope traveled to New York to give his much-anticipated speech on human rights at the United Nations. On Saturday, April 19, as a festive, flagwaving crowd of thousands lined Fifth Avenue, Benedict XVI became the first pope to celebrate Mass in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, choosing a Votive Mass for the Universal Church. His fiery homily was interspersed with references to New York’s Catholic heritage, and he remarked upon the particular mission of the Church in America, calling for healing and renewal: “In this country, the Church’s mission has always involved drawing people ‘from every nation under heaven’ (cf. Acts 2:5). Let us implore from God the grace of a new Pentecost for the Church in America. May tongues of fire, combining burning love of God and neighbor with zeal for the spread of Christ’s Kingdom, descend on all present! “This is the message of hope we are called to proclaim and embody in a world where self-centeredness, greed, violence, and cynicism so often seem to choke the fragile growth of grace in people’s hearts. Perhaps we have lost sight of this: in a society where the Church seems legalistic and ‘ institutional ’ to many people, our most urgent challenge is to communicate the joy born of faith and the experience of God’s love.” After pointing out that Archbishop John Hughes chose the neo-Gothic style for the beloved cathedral in order to remind the young American Church “of the great spiritual tradition to which it was heir,” Benedict XVI used Saint Patrick’s stained-glass windows as a metaphor: “From the outside, those windows are dark, heavy, even dreary. But once one enters the church, they suddenly come alive; reflecting the light passing through them, they reveal all their splendor.… It is only from the inside, from the experience of faith and ecclesial life, that we see the Church as she truly is: flooded with grace, resplendent in beauty, adorned by the manifold gifts of the Spirit. It follows that we, who live the life of grace within the Church’s communion, are called to draw all people into this mystery of light.”65 SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE IN THE UNITED STATES Five days later, Mass celebrated with sixty thousand faithful at Yankee Stadium in New York, which ended his papal visit to the United States on a fervent note. 63 Benedict XVI, interview with Father Lombardi, April 15, 2008, www.vatican.va 64 Benedict XVI, Celebration of Vespers and Meeting with the Bishops of the United States of America, National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C., April 16, 2008. 65 Benedict XVI, Homily from the Votive Mass for the Universal Church, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, New York, April 19, 2008. © Photos: Alamy For his eighth apostolic visit, Benedict XVI journeys to the United States. He is accompanied in Washington on Tuesday, April 15, 2008, by President George W. Bush and his wife Laura. Key moments: the meetings with bishops (on the right) and with priests and religious in Saint Patrick's Cathedral.
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