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	Archbishop: Pope's Visit Restored Faith Among Catholics WBAL April 22, 2008 http://www.wbaltv.com/news/15959254/detail.html BALTIMORE -- As the craze over Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States dies down, Baltimore's archbishop said that people were finally able to learn more about the church's leader. O'Brien Sums Up Pope's Trip "It was like St. Patrick's Day and the opening of the General Assembly and having a president visit all at the same time," said Baltimore Archbishop Edwin O'Brien. O'Brien said that the pope's visit was well-orchestrated, from the events that were planned to the security. He said that initially there was concern about how America would receive the pope. But he said by the end of the trip, people had a real sense of who Pope Benedict was. "There's a certain magnetism to him that was not present in (Pope John Paul), who was very outgoing as well. There's a certain impishness to him. He's very shy, but still on the know. I think that came through," the archbishop said. O'Brien said that the pope's many human gestures to those who came to welcome him showed a subtle and tender side to him, from reaching out to people as he left Nationals Park to making sure a blind boy and his mother got communion at Mass. "The Secret Service tried to stop (the boy), because his mother had to come with him and she wasn't supposed to come up there. He spotted that and told (the boy) to come up, then touched him on the chin," O'Brien said. The archbishop said he didn't expect the pontiff to talk about the church's sex abuse scandal as frequently and forcefully as he did, but said that speaking out left no doubt about the church's position. "I was pleased he did, and I hope it will encourage others to come forward who have been abused and bring people to light who have been involved in this terrible crime," he said. O'Brien said that Pope's Benedict's visit helped restore faith among Catholics in the U.S. He said the visit might encourage those who've left the church to return.
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