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America welcomes Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI has made his first papal visit to the United States, with stops in Washington, D.C. and New York City. He met with President Bush, with various religious and secular leaders, spoke at the United Nations, and prayed at Ground Zero in Manhattan. The Pope’s arrival ends months of anticipation and hard work in those two cities and throughout the country. Just consider the arrangements made for the mass the Pope celebrated at Nationals Park, a baseball stadium, in Washington. Some important items were made especially for the event, such as the altar, the Pope’s chair (some say throne), and the kneelers. Others, such as the large crucifix that hung over the altar, were borrowed. The jewel-encrusted chalice the Pope used during Communion had been stored at the Vatican Embassy since the last papal visit. Those with tickets to the 10:00am service were encouraged to arrive as early as 5:15am. This facilitated security screening for the 46,000 congregants and allowed them to visit one of the hundred priests on hand to hear confessions. Everyone in the park received a Papal goodie bag, containing prayer cards, Papal flags, and other commemorative items. Those in the “good seats” in the outfield exchanged premium seating for convenience, as they were not be able to leave their chairs during the service, and did not have access to concession stands. Their goodie bags also included a small snack and bottled water, and a poncho in case the weather turned rainy. (It didn’t.) Apart from the tickets (there were three times as many requests as seats), the most controversial aspect of the service seems to have been the music. Organizers have said the selections were made to reflect Catholic tradition and the church’s current diversity. However, according to newspaper accounts, some Catholics expressed disappointment that the service included no chants and little music by classical composers. The service did include performances by world-renowned singers Placido Domingo and Denyce Graves, and several choirs totaling 570 voices. (Leaders: We hope your group can have an interesting discussion of the intersection of the Pope’s visit as an expression of faith. You will probably want to steer clear of any critique of Catholicism or discussion of major controversy in the Catholic Church. There is plenty of information about the visit on the Internet. In particular, you might look at the Archdiocese of Washington Website www.adw.org, the Washington Post www.washingtonpost.com/benedict, and the New York Times. The BBC's articles on the Roman Catholic Church: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/catholic/) |
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Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, April 27, 2008. 