By Bronislaus B. Kush
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
April 15, 2008
http://www.telegram.com/article/20080415/NEWS/804150645/1116
In a video message to Americans last week, Pope Benedict XVI said the purpose of his trip to the United States, which begins today in Washington, D.C., is to reach out spiritually to all Roman Catholics living in this country.
"Together with your bishops, I have chosen as the theme of my journey three simple but essential words: Christ our hope," said the German-born pontiff. "Jesus Christ is hope for men and women of every language, race, culture and social condition. Through him, our lives reach fullness and together, both as individuals and peoples, we can become a family united by fraternal love, according to the eternal plan of God the Father."
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| Marianne Duddy-Burke, left, executive director of DignityUSA, speaks at a rally Saturday in New York. |
Unlike most of the nation's 67.5 million Catholics, Marianne Duddy-Burke said she's not taking Pope Benedict at his word about his promise of inclusiveness.
Ms. Duddy-Burke is gay.
"His track record is consistent," said Ms. Duddy-Burke, executive director of DignityUSA, a gay rights group with members from Central Massachusetts. "His statements about gays are among some of the harshest made by mainstream religious leaders. He's dehumanized us in the past, and I don't think this one trip is going to make a difference."
While thousands will be cheering on the pope at weeklong festivities in Washington and New York City, Ms. Duddy-Burke and other disaffected Catholics will be staging demonstrations to protest the Vatican's positions on homosexuality, birth control, abortion, the role of women in the church, test-tube conception, genetics experimentation, divorce and other social issues.
Groups representing victims of clergy abuse also are expected to protest what they see as a lack of concern by the church hierarchy about protecting children still at risk from clergy predators.
Even atheists, secularists and humanists are planning demonstrations
The American Catholic church has experienced divisions between liberals and conservatives since Pope John Paul II drifted away from some reforms instituted by the Second Vatican Council.
That division continued with the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the head of the highly conservative Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in 2005 as the new pope, Benedict XVI.
Cardinal Ratzinger, over the years, drew the ire of many Catholics for his strong defense of more traditional doctrines and values and his concerns about secularism in charitable work and social activism.
Interestingly, many Vatican observers said a feared crackdown of liberal groups within the church has never taken place and they noted that Pope Benedict, though a staunch defender of dogmatic matters, has taken a more mellowed approach over the course of his three-year papacy.
"There was some fear that there'd be an introduction of something like the Inquisition but that never really happened," said Mathew N. Schmalz, an associate professor in the Religious Studies Department at the College of the Holy Cross. "Though fidelity to Catholic teaching is very important to him, Pope Benedict has been a lot more open than people expected. I think he appreciates some give-and-take on ideas."
For example, Mr. Schmalz said, the pope has invited Islamic theologians to visit the Vatican and he's hosted a debate between advocates of creationism and those espousing the theory of evolution.
Officials and analysts believe the pope will stick with the "bread-and-butter issues" of the church, but he will make an attempt to reach out to alienated Catholics.
"He'll speak to us about the moral issues of the day. He's not going to avoid discussions about ethics and values," said Jack P. Calareso, president of Anna Maria College in Paxton. "But I think he's also going to extend a hand. For example, by visiting Ground Zero (one of the sites of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks), he will show us his compassion for victims of all types. And he's going to make an appeal to youth, who he sees as the future of the church."
Even if some sort of olive branch is extended, Vatican critics said, the pope's visit won't tear down barriers that have existed for years between the church hierarchy and some social groups.
For example, victims of clergy abuse are angry that the pope won't be visiting Boston, the epicenter of the sexual abuse scandal.
In January, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests asked Archbishop Pieto Sambi, the papal nuncio, to arrange a formal meeting between victims and the pope.
"We never received a response," said David Clohessy, SNAP's national director. "Benedict has never reached out to victims. In the early part of his papacy, he made reference to the 'filth' within the church and people thought he was referring to the pedophiles. But that's about all he's done. The church's response to the crisis has been deplorable."
On Friday, SNAP asked Vatican officials that Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley be excluded from public events because of the organization's belief that the prelate hasn't done enough to safeguard children.
Mr. Clohessy said he believes that the pontiff will meet sometime during the visit with a small, selected group of victims.
"The problem with church officials is that they don't know us (disaffected Catholics)," said Ms. Duddy-Burke.
She said that she and her spouse had their adoptive infant daughter, Emily, baptized a Catholic. The youngster, now 6, even attended a parochial school for a time.
"We're just a normal family trying to make it and most American Catholics have accepted us and welcomed us into the church family," said Ms. Duddy-Burke. "But the pope sees us as a threat. He's called gay people 'intrinsically disoriented' and said that those of us in relationships are 'evil.' I don't think this visit will heal wounds."
Contact: bkush@telegram.com
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