I just finished watching a video of Benedict XVI on YouTube. The Pope on YouTube – how the world is changing! It must be humbling to be in Benedict’s spot – to know that the world is watching you. And it must be frustrating – to know that everything you say gets re-hashed and re-interpreted.
In this video and in the news articles before his arrival in the U.S., the Pope has said that he comes to bring a message of hope. In this whirlwind visit, the stops seem so appropriate. Ground Zero and the United Nations…places that speak of the need for a change of heart. Catholic University of America and a gathering of college presidents…a reminder that education can open the door to that change.
I’m not fond of crowds and I don’t like long lines, but listening to all the news around this brief visit takes me back to John Paul II’s visit to Detroit in the 1980’s. I was one those folks in Hart Plaza back then trying to get a better glimpse of him through the zoom lens on my camera. The energy in that sea of people made the jostling and the waiting all worth it.
What are your feelings about this visit?