What the pope’s visit reveals about American Catholics

WHITE HOUSE WELCOME Pope Benedict XVI is greeted by U.S. President George W. Bush during a welcoming ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington April 16. (CNS/Joshua Roberts)   For an exclusive Q&A with Father Anthony Pogorelc, click HERE.

A Catholic Digest Papal Exclusive

While your eyes are on the pope, some sociologists may be watching you. That’s because a papal visit is a great time to explore lots of questions about how people see and live their faith. What goes on in a papal visit? Are people more affected by the pope or by the collective experience of people gathered together, big events, and media hype? Can people actually be transformed by such an event? We’ll know more after the pope departs, but here are some of the questions sociologists may be considering.

1. How will people respond to Benedict XVI compared with John Paul II?

Pope John Paul II, who was youthful and charismatic when he made his first visit to the United States, set the bar for what we expect of papal visits. He had a rock star quality and was energized by large crowds, singing and joking with them as well as praying and preaching. His visits were spectacles, and the enthusiasm was contagious. From a sociological perspective John Paul II was a charismatic leader; people were moved to follow him by the force of his personality.

Pope Benedict XVI is a scholar and an introvert. In a recent New York Times interview Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the pope’s representative to the United States, said that people will only come to know Pope Benedict by listening to what he has to say. John Allen, senior correspondent with National Catholic Reporter and an astute observer of Vatican life, said: “People came to see John Paul II; now people come to hear Benedict.” One thing to pay attention to will be how successfully the events of this papal visit shift the focus from the eyes to the ears.

Sociologists see religion as having both priestly and prophetic dimensions. The priestly is expressed through rituals like the Mass, which engage the eyes (with colorful vestments, beautiful altars, ambos, and art), the nose (with incense), and the ears (with music and bells). The prophetic dimension is expressed in proclamation of the word and preaching. The priestly dimension is very suited to our highly visual culture. The prophetic dimension is challenged by limited attention spans reduced to the duration of sound bytes, and clips of longer elocutions played out of context on YouTube.

Pope John Paul II was a multifaceted man; he was a poet and a playwright who was very much at home on the stage. During Mass he sang, and performed grand gestures such as raising his pastoral staff encouraging the cheers of the crowd. He was also a philosophy professor who gave erudite speeches about eternal truths that supported Church disciplines. Some commentators spoke about a gap between these facets of his personality. Some people were more attracted by the priestly aura than by the professorial prophet. After one of his spectacular Masses, which included a sermon that told young Catholics to toe the line, a young Latina commented: “I love him like my own grandfather.” When the reporter pressed her about whether she was going to follow the pope’s warnings, she elaborated. “Oh you got to love grandpa,” she said, “but you can’t let him run your life.” For John Paul, the priestly aura was most memorable and continued to draw throngs even after his physical heath forced him to slow down.

Benedict XVI is also very priestly, but he shrouds himself in the elaborate baroque styles of his Bavarian homeland. Visually beautiful in a classic sense, it invites admiration more than interaction. Though an accomplished professor of theology, some people claim to like his homilies and speeches because of what he says and how he says it. They say his words are more down to earth, but you have to stretch your attention span and listen. If modern Americans tend to relate more to what they can see and interact with, Benedict could be at a disadvantage with the ordinary folks who come to see him.

2. What kind of relationship do American Catholics have with the pope?

Catholics call the pope the Holy Father. This relational title points to an emotional bond between the pope and Catholics. It can even be as complex as one’s tie to one’s own father. When you mention the pope to a Catholic, rarely do you get a neutral reaction. Though a recent CARA poll shows that 8 in 10 American Catholics are satisfied with the leadership of Pope Benedict XVI, other studies have clearly shown that in recent times many Catholics have ceased to be doting children and have become more critical of the pope and hierarchy. Social research shows that since Vatican II, acceptance of their moral authority has

For a Q&A with Father Pogorelc, click HERE to read this Catholic Digest Papal Exclusive.

diminished. Sociologist Andrew Greeley and others locate Humanae Vitae, the 1968 encyclical on birth control, as a watershed moment for the loss of credibility. The book American Catholics Today released in 2007 shows that since the 1980s, only about 10 percent of Catholics claim to look to Church leaders alone to guide them on decisions about contraception. In this and other areas Catholics have shifted the locus of moral authority from the hierarchy to their own experience and consciences. Perhaps some of today’s Catholics are more like adult children who do not want to take orders, but to be in dialogue with their parents.

Some may also think they need to take on some responsibilities to aid their parents in the governance of the household. The sexual abuse scandal and its cover-up revealed in 2002 led some Catholics to organize. Social movements such as Voice of the Faithful called for Catholics to draw on their knowledge and commitment to press the hierarchy to become more accountable and transparent.

3. How does a papal Mass affect different types of Catholics?

An early figure in the sociology of religion, Emile Durkheim, stressed that religion is essentially social. Psychologist Eugene Kennedy classified Catholics as being of two cultures. Culture One is composed of those so interested in the institution that they know all the key players and happenings; most seminarians and Church leaders come from this group. Culture Two is made up of those who identify as Catholics, but are not preoccupied with the institution. These cultures do not necessary correlate with being liberal or conservative.

The spectacle of a papal visit may draw "non-Catholics" into the Church.

A 2005 survey indicated that 34 percent of Catholics attend Mass weekly and 50 percent attend at least twice a month. This means just over a third of Catholics attend Mass as often as the Church would like. From Durkheim’s perspective, an individual’s identification with a group is created through participation in the group’s actions. Likewise, for communities to be strong they need regular events to reaffirm their shared meanings and central ideas.

A papal visit is a big event meant to bolster Culture Ones and attract Culture Twos. Being in the know, Culture Ones see a liturgy presided over by the pope, concelebrated by the bishops, even including one’s local bishop as a thrilling event. They respond to prayers pronounced by the pope and receive communion hosts consecrated by him. They realize they are even closer to the pope than the cliché of six degrees of separation: the pope knows my bishop who knows my pastor who knows me. This experience of collective effervescence not only reinforces their Catholic identity but also may even propel them to reach out to the Culture Two Catholics in their life.

Culture Twos who may be looking for more religion in his or her life, and who have relationships with Culture Ones would be the most likely to be changed by a papal visit. Social scientists have documented this dynamic in conversions or reaffiliations across the religious spectrum. A similar affect might be found for non-Catholics who lack or have weak ties to other denominations, and have relationships with Culture One Catholics. The spectacle of a papal visit may draw them into the Church. One way to measure this might be to see if there is an increase in numbers of adults seeking the Sacrament of Confirmation or entering into the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA), especially in places visited by the pope, in the year following a papal visit.

4. Who will hear what?

What kind of hearing will Pope Benedict receive? Who will be listening and for what? Catholics who are committed to particular issues will certainly be listening to see if the pope says something to support them. Members of conservative groups will be listening for the condemnation of abortion, embryonic stem cell research, and gay marriage. Since the 2004 election Catholics with a progressive orientation based on Catholic social teaching have organized. They adopt the consistent ethic of life and are in line with the bishops in promoting care for neo-natal life as well as for children and adults through access to healthcare, education, living wages, comprehensive immigration reform, care for the environment, and even opposition to the Iraq war. They are hoping that the pope, who is European and likely to see many of the later benefits as hallmarks of a civilized society, will say so.

Catholics have different ways of dealing with tensions between the pope’s teachings and other beliefs and practices. Some point to a hierarchy of truths saying that matters related to natural law such as sexuality and reproduction are non-negotiable while social teaching is based on prudential judgment leaving a wide berth for agreement and disagreement. Others subscribing to a consistent ethic of life stress the interrelationship of all ethical issues. Some use reason to question what today is treated as the taken for granted interpretation of the Catholic tradition, and engage in what is called emancipatory discourse. For example, they might survey Church history and provide evidence that in the past, authority figures in the Church held a variety of positions on a given issue, challenging claims that “the Church has always taught” a particular

For a Q&A with Father Pogorelc, click HERE to read this Catholic Digest Papal Exclusive.

position. In so doing they use reason to support a claim that there are legitimate alternative interpretations of Church doctrine.

2008 is an election year. Members of both political parties will be watching to see if anything the pope says benefits them or their opponents.

5. How does a papal visit blend Catholicism and civil religion?

Papal visits are situated at the border of Catholicism and American civil religion. The first papal visit coincided with Catholics joining the American mainstream. According to Robert Bellah, most Americans share common religious characteristics that promote national cohesion. At every papal visit the president or other high officials have greeted the pope. Persons of every religious denomination line the parade routes. What other world figure is welcomed with such fanfare and media coverage? In a nation where Catholics once were the victims of prejudice, such official welcoming of the pope affirms the Catholic religion as an integral part of the American society. This does not mean there are no tensions, but there certainly has been progress.

Conclusion

With a new pope at the helm, and the changes that have occurred since the last visit, the papal visit of 2008 will be a unique experience. Church leaders hope that it will result in increasing knowledge of Catholicism and higher commitment expressed through identification with the Church’s stances on moral issues as well as participation in parish life. We will see its immediate effects as it unfolds. The long-term effects for Catholics and the country will only be manifest over time. CD

For a Q&A with Father Pogorelc, click HERE to read this Catholic Digest Papal Exclusive.

Father Anthony J. Pogorelc, S.S., M.Div., M.S., Ph.D., is a formation adviser and spiritual director at Theological College at the Catholic University of America. He is an associate fellow in the Life Cycle Institute at Catholic University and adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Sociology. As a sociologist of religion, he specializes in the study of social movements, organizations, and professional ministry.