This past week the Pope entertained a visit to the USA, first stopping in Washington DC and then making his way up to New York, NY. This was Pope Benedict XVI’s first visit to America since coming into the position and while here, his mission was to ensure his flock does stray too far or leave the heard.
“This is a pope who is very concerned about the loss of faith in Europe . . . but the U.S. is in a very different situation,” said Father Thomas Rausch, a theologian at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. “All kinds of Christianity — Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox — are much more alive and vital than in Europe.”
As John Stewart points out, even the president went out to the airport to pick up the Pope, which never happens. He was greeted with a birthday song and per bush, provided an “awesome” speech.
While venturing around NY this week, the traffic was noticeably thicker, the vendors were pushing “We’ve got Papal! What have you got!” T-shirts and even the dogs were donning episcopal mitres. I did not, however, venture anywhere near the spots where the holiness was speaking or visiting. I’m not Catholic after all and I just don’t like tourist destinations. I do hope that those that ventured here got their fill of the papal visit, because I had enough of it on TV to last me this term.
