The media relations department of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops held a press conference this morning on the thought of Pope Benedict XVI. Organizers hoped to help reporters better understand just who the Pope is (both as successor of St. Peter and an intelligent but humble German named Joseph Ratzinger) and what message he might be bringing to America next month.
But, as might be expected in a press conference, the discussion turned to a number of other topics, such as availability of tickets and whether the Pope intends to listen to the concerns of American Catholics.
The briefing was held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, where Pope Benedict will meet with American bishops on April 16. It was moderated by Helen Osman, director of the bishops conference’s Department of Communications, and featured two speakers: Archbishop Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington, and Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who heads the Archdiocese for Military Services.
Archbishop Wuerl led off remarks, saying he expects the Holy Father will remind Americans of what he wrote in Spe Salvi, his second encyclical, that those who live by hope “live differently.”
For his part, Archbishop Wuerl, noting the cultural diversity of his archdiocese, and the nation, hopes the Pope will find a “lively unifying faith in this part of the world.”
Both men offered their views of the person of Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict from the times they have met with him. Archbishop Wuerl said that on the occasions he’s visited the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, what “always came across more than anything else” about the prefect, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was his pastoral concern and care.
“He would listen to what we were saying, and he would ask questions to make sure he understood” what was being presented to him. At the end of each meeting, Cardinal Ratzinger, an immensely important figure in the Vatican who could have simply stood up and left for his next meeting, would “walk to the door and greet every single one of us on our way out.”
Said Archbishop Wuerl: “I thought, ‘What a wonderful touch of humanity and care. Because I knew he had to go to another room and meet with another group that was waiting. But he felt we were important to him.”
Archbishop Broglio, a veteran Vatican diplomat, added that Pope Benedict is known for his deference and courtesy. Pope Benedict is “a kind man who looks intently at his interlocutor and gives him his undivided attention,” he said. As Cardinal Ratzinger, he was “seldom seen at diplomatic receptions but was dedicated to his office and home,” he said. But the cardinal was often seen walking across St. Peter’s Square to his office in the Vatican.
“Even today his lifestyle is still very simple,” he continued. “The papal living quarters are very plain.”
Archbishop Broglio noted that in spite of his age, 80, Pope Benedict maintains a heavy schedule, setting priorities for writing and study. Amid it all, he said, there must be time for a daily walk. “At precisely 4 p.m. — and you can set your watch by it — he is driven to the Vatican gardens for a walk.
The question and answer period discussed ticket availability and distribution, the American political scene, and whether the Pope cares about American concerns.
Archbishop Wuerl said it’s a sign of how popular this Pope is that “for every place we have (at the Mass in Nationals Stadium) we have at least three requests” for tickets. Officials are still finalizing how many seats there will be at the Mass because they had to get special permission to put chairs on the field of the new stadium, he said. “We have to get cleared by the appropriate authorities, for lots of reasons.”
He said that tickets were allotted for dioceses around the country, with the lion’s share going to the host archdiocese. In Washington, D.C., itself, seating placement was decided on by members of the archdiocesan priests council, who matched parish names drawn from one bag with seating locations drawn from another.
In response to a question about measures to keep tickets to the papal Masses from being auctioned off on eBay, Archbishop Wuerl said that tickets will be numbered and that if a particular ticket does go up on an internet auction site, it can be cancelled by the ticketing agent and won’t be accepted at the venue.
Responding to a question about whether there will be time in the six-day visit for the Pope to listen to Americans, Archbishop Broglio said that “part of that listening process is already taking place.”
“But you can be sure that anything received in those encounters will be registered by the Holy Father,” said the archbishop.
Archbishop Wuerl noted that as part of the preparation for his American journey, the Holy Father asked for briefing papers on American concerns. But many issues have already come up and are on the Pope’s radar screen. “There will be no conversation he’ll be having that will be new,” Archbishop Wuerl said.
Peter Steinfels, religion columnist at The New York Times, raised the fact that the Pope is coming to America during a “very lively presidential election campaign” and that there no doubt will be an effort to “interpret his every eyebrow movement” for signs of which way the Pontiff is leaning in the partisan race for the White House.
“You can be certain the Holy Father’s remarks won’t be intended to identify with one candidate or another,” said Archbishop Broglio. He mused that the fact that the Pope would agree to come here during an election year indicates that he trusts Americans won’t construe any remarks in a partisan way.
But Archbishop Wuerl said he hopes the visit will be a “moment of teaching and learning, when we hear from Peter what it means to live out your faith in 2008.”
Another reporter asked what can be done to prepare the Pope for the “world capital of sound bites,” Washington, D.C. Archbishop Wuerl’s response: “A sound bite answer: He prays.”
--John Burger
