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.