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Local Catholics watching for pontiff’s response to clergy sex abuse scandal (9:30 p.m.)

NEW BEDFORD — As Pope Benedict XVI arrivesTuesday in Washington, D.C., on the first leg of a six-day visit, localCatholics will be paying close attention to how the pontiff addressesthe clergy sex abuse crisis that rocked the American church in 2002.
“Benedictwill not be vague or ambiguous in condemning it,” the Rev. Roger J.Landry, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Church in New Bedford, saidtoday.
He is coordinating transportation for 100 parishioners fromacross the Fall River diocese to attend the papal Mass at YankeeStadium on Sunday.
The local pilgrims will find security at YankeeStadium to be among the most stringent ever seen in a U.S. venue.Security has been increased in the wake of the Secret Service receiving“credible” death threats against the pope. Tickets to the papal Masshave bar codes with the parishioners’ identifications.
PopeBenedict’s apostolic visit — its theme being “Christ Our Hope” — is thefirst papal pilgrimage to the United States since the abuse scandals.The pope is expected to address the issue in his remarks to U.S.bishops and in his homilies in Washington and New York.
At the sametime, the pope, who marks his 81st birthday on Wednesday, will facechallenges within the American church that include: declining Massattendance; parishes and schools that have closed; declining numbers ofpriests and nuns; and especially disagreements among Catholics overchurch teachings.
Despite the efforts of Boston Archbishop Sean P.O’Malley, the former bishop of the Fall River diocese, Pope Benedictwill not be visiting Boston, which was at the epicenter of the clergysex abuse scandal.
The Rev. Landry said the Vatican did not want the pope’s visit to end on that note.
Voiceof the Faithful, a lay group formed in response to the abuse crisis, isseeking to keep the issue front and center, raising money to buy afull-page advertisement in the New York Times and other nationalnewspapers.
“We don’t think he understands what’s happening in theU.S. church,” John Moynihan, Voice of the Faithful communicationsdirector, told The Standard-Times last month. “We want to call hisattention to reality.”
As prefect for the Vatican’s Congregation forthe Doctrine of the Faith, Pope Benedict, then-Cardinal JosephRatzinger, had responsibility for reviewing allegations of sexual abuseagainst priests. Condemning sex abuse, he denounced “filth” in thechurch, “even among those in the priesthood.”
As pope, he has endorsed efforts to examine abuse allegations and to support victims, the Rev. Landry said.
Duringhis U.S. visit, Pope Benedict will seek to promote healing within thechurch, as well as to remind the clergy of their vocation to a holy orconsecrated life, the Rev. Landry said.
“Benedict has no blinderson,” he said. “He’s going to be ever firm in calling out: The clergy issupposed to be, above all, holy.”
Over the next three days, thepope’s itinerary in Washington will include a private meeting withPresident Bush, a prayer service with 350 U.S. bishops at the Basilicaof the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and Mass atNationals Park.
Fall River Bishop George W. Coleman will participatein the prayer service and will concelebrate the pope’s Mass atNationals Park.
John Kearns, spokesman for the Fall River diocese, will assist the communications staff of the U.S. Bishops’ Conference.
Whilein Washington, Pope Benedict will also address leaders from Catholiccolleges, and meet with Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and representativesfrom other religions.
In New York, the pope will address the U.N.General Assembly, visit ground zero, celebrate a special Mass forpriests and religious at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, visit a synagogue andcelebrate the public Mass at Yankee Stadium.
Fall River diocesanpriests, the Revs. Kevin Cook and David Pignato, will attend thespecial Mass for priests at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
The Rev. Landrysaid Pope Benedict will challenge Catholic Americans to fulfill thehopes enshrined in the nation’s founding documents.
“He wants tomake sure the focus is on God,” the Rev. Landry said. “He sees hiswhole papacy as reminding people that their lives as Christians aresupposed to be filled with joy.”
In previous writings andinterviews, the pope has articulated a fondness for the United States,admiring the nation for its robust spirituality. Despite the occasionalFirst Amendment tensions over separation of church and state issues,Benedict has said religion is not marginalized in the U.S. the way itis now in Western Europe.
Benedict “is going to try to strengthen what the Vatican sees as America’s strengths,” the Rev. Landry said.
“He’sgoing to be talking of the history of Catholicism in the United Statesas this living out of faith, hope and love,” he said, referencing thethree theological virtues that have been the subjects of PopeBenedict’s first two encyclicals.
Benedict’s visit is the ninthpapal pilgrimage to the United States, tying Poland with the countrymost visited by a pope. Popes Paul VI and John Paul II visited the U.S.during their papacies.
While John Paul II wielded immense charismaand an actor’s timing on the world stage, Benedict XVI is known morefor a low-key scholarly approach. His writings and speeches, while attimes sparking controversy, have generally been commended for theirerudition and clarity.
“There’s a reverence with Benedict,” the Rev. Landry said. “Benedict makes people sit down, shut up and listen.”
TheRev. Landry said the depth of the pope’s thinking has made his writings“just as good as any of those of the early fathers of the church.” Thatwould put the pontiff in the company of luminaries such as Augustine ofHippo, Thomas Aquinas, Leo the Great and St. Jerome.
“Watch for masterpieces,” the Rev. Landry said in referencing Pope Benedict’s upcoming addresses.
Contact Brian Fraga at bfraga@s-t.com

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