ROME
(Zenit.org).—
The archbishop of Washington, D.C., is expecting Benedict XVI's arrival to the United States this month to remind Catholics there that they are part of the universal Church.
"We look forward to the Holy Father's visit," Archbishop Donald Wuerl told ZENIT in an interview Friday, "because he will confirm our faith and I think he will challenge us to live the Gospel as fully as we should; so we look forward to Peter coming and being with us."
 |
"There is sense of mutual understanding, and out of that comes mutual respect. And this is a way just to build a better world." |
 |
The archbishop added that the faithful in the United States also "look forward to the connectedness that he will remind us is ours because of him, because of the apostolic tradition, because we are part of the Church."
The Pontiff's visit, from April 15 to 20, will include many opportunities for Benedict XVI to speak, and address various audiences. He will address President George Bush when he visits the White House on April 16, later the same day he will participate in a prayer service and meeting with the nation's 350 bishops.
The next day the Pope will celebrate Mass at the new Nationals Park in Washington, meet with the heads of more than 200 Catholic colleges and universities at the
Catholic University of America, and then meet with interreligious leaders at the
Pope John Paul II Cultural Center.
Friday through Sunday in New York, the Holy Father will address the
United Nations, attend a prayer service with Christian leaders of various denominations, celebrate the Eucharist with priests, deacons and religious at
St. Patrick's Cathedral, meet with youth at
St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, visit Ground Zero, and preside over the closing Mass at
Yankee Stadium.
Although the message the Pontiff will bring to the American people hasn't been divulged, the archbishop speculated: "I suspect when he is at the Nationals Park he will be talking about all the things that we need to be encouraged to live out. I think he will be talking about the importance of our faith.
"I hope he will say something about families, family life. I hope, I think he will say something about the value, the dignity of life; I think he will probably challenge us and lead us to the Gospel."
While media reports highlight the divisions and tensions of the Church in the United States, Archbishop Wuerl disagrees. He says he has the "sense of the Church beginning to be renewed. There are always problems because we are a very secular and a very, very material country, but at the same time I am seeing among many, many young people a sense of re-appreciating the Gospel and re-appreciating the voice of the Church, the teaching of the Church.
"So I think it could be a moment of the great grace."
The Pontiff's schedule during his U.S. trip includes four stops dedicated to building interreligious dialogue. After both the meeting with interreligious leaders in Washington, D.C., and ecumenical leaders in New York, Benedict XVI will meet with Jewish representative to present to them his greetings for the feast of Passover, which begins for the Jewish people on April 19.
Archbishop Wuerl explained that interreligious dialogue is a priority not just for Benedict XVI, but for all. "I think it is important that we be able to build good relationships with all of the religions around us, you do that by dialogue, you do that by conversation.
"There is sense of mutual understanding, and out of that comes mutual respect. And this is a way just to build a better world."
Regarding the achievements of Pope John Paul II in the area of interreligious dialogue, he said: "I think Pope John Paul II demonstrated a great openness to dialogue; he spent a lot of time in dialogue with religions over the world, so I think he set a good example."
CD
© Innovative Media, Inc.
Reprinting ZENIT's articles requires written permission from the editor.
