In just about 10 days Pope
Francis will make his first trip ever to the United States. He will be visiting
Washington, DC, New York and Philadelphia. This is an historic occasion and
will be well covered (perhaps excessively so) by all the media. Pope Francis is
a hot news item. He is, for better or worse, a celebrity.
However there is much more going
on with this visit than just a big media event. For all the hoopla and hype it
is important to at least try to remain focused on the deeper and more
meaningful aspects of Pope Francis’ visit.
First of all, I encourage you to
pray for the Pope’s safety during his time in our country. Frankly, Pope
Francis is a nightmare for security personnel. Pope Francis’ love for people
and his warm Hispanic nature, lead him to disregard security issues to make
direct and personal contact with people. All people. People are drawn to him
like a magnet, and Pope Francis is drawn to be close and among the people he
both leads and serves. I applaud Pope Francis for that. But I also worry that
given the number guns out there, and the number of mentally ill people who are
not getting the treatment they need, that Pope Francis is running a big risk.
I remember many years ago when I
was a young priest stationed near Fairbanks at St. Nicholas Church in North
Pole, Alaska. We had a parishioner who was pretty high up in the Alaskan State
Troopers. Pope John Paul II stopped in Fairbanks once on his way home from a
trip to Asia, and the papal plane had to refuel in Fairbanks. The Pope was only
at the airport for a couple of hours, but he came out and spoke to the crowd
there. I was startled when our Alaskan State Trooper parishioner later stated,
with evident relief, that he was never so happy as when he saw the Pope’s plane
taking off from Fairbanks and leaving. So I am certain that many security
people will give a big sigh of relief when Pope Francis departs the U.S. To have the Pope harmed on your watch would be
a terrible thing. So pray for Pope Francis’ safety.
Secondly, I urge you to pay
attention to what the Pope says. He has come all the way from Rome not just to
see the sights, not just to try a Philly cheesesteak sandwich, but he comes to
us to bring us a message. Actually, probably several messages. It is much
easier just to enjoy the hoopla, but I urge you to take the time and effort and
really listen to his message. Listen with an open mind and a prayerful heart. He
may speak to us about the insidious nature of too much wealth and technology,
or about immigration and refugees, or our responsibility to protect the
environment, or the need for communities of genuine concern and love, or
something else. He will be making several major addresses at his Masses, at the
U.N., to the U.S. Congress, and at the conclusion of the World Meeting of
Families. So there will probably be lots of content. The Pope has multiple
occasions to speak on various topics and it is a pretty good bet he will use
them all.
The visit of Pope Francis is a
rare and also beautiful opportunity. We can be proud to be members of the
Catholic Church. More importantly, we can use this opportunity – no, this gift
– to refresh and deepen our faith in Jesus Christ as members of His Body in the
Catholic Church. That would be the best part of Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S.
God Bless,
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