Pope Benedict XVI. visits New York and Washington in mid-April. According to the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the head of the Church will visit from 15. to 20. In addition to the White House in Washington, the Pope will also visit the United Nations headquarters in New York and Ground Zero, the site of the terrorist attacks of 11 April. September 2001. On his 81st. Birthday, the 16. April, Benedict XVI will. Officially received at the White House, according to Sambi. The presidential election will be held in the fall.
It is the first papal trip Benedict XVI. to the United States. Pope John Paul II. (1978-2005) visited the U.S. seven times and addressed the United Nations twice in 1979 and 1995. Also Paul VI. gave a historic speech there in 1965.On the afternoon of the birthday, the Pope is scheduled to address U.S. bishops. On 17. April are scheduled to include a service at Washington's baseball stadium, a meeting with the leaders of church educational institutions and an interfaith encounter at the John Paul II.-Center in Washington on the program.In New York, on the morning of April 18, the pope will address the. April at UN headquarters, an address to the United Nations General Assembly. Last April, Benedict XVI.accepted an invitation from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon to spend time with him. An ecumenical meeting is planned for the afternoon.
Gesture of solidarity to Ground Ze The following day, the third anniversary of his election as pope, Benedict XVI celebrated. a Mass in New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral. On 20. April, the head of the church will visit Ground Zero, the site of the 11. The two towers of the World Trade Center collapsed after two hijacked passenger planes hit the ground on September 9, 2001. Sambi said the pope wants to show solidarity there "with those who died there, with their families and with all those who wish for an end to violence and the establishment of peace".His six-day visit will end on the afternoon of April 20. April, a large Mass celebration at New York's Yankee Stadium. Earlier reports had also speculated about Boston and Baltimore as possible stops on the papal trip. Sambi explained the papal itinerary Monday at the opening of the fall plenary session of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore.
Bush rejoice U.S. President George W. Bush looks forward to visit of Pope Benedict XVI. "The president and Mrs. Bush are already joyfully expecting the Holy Father to spend time in Washington and the United States for the first time next spring," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Monday (local time) in Washington.Disappointed with the travel plans, representatives of several organizations for victims of sexual abuse by church workers expressed their views. Benedict XVI. The pope missed a "golden opportunity" to visit Boston, the center of the scandal, during his trip and set an example, according to a spokesman for the SNAP victims' network.
Cost of the abuse scandal The scandal of sexual abuse since the 1950s originated in Boston in2002 and triggered a nationwide wave of revelations. He cost the Catholic Church enormous prestige and political influence in the U.S. Boston Cardinal Bernard Law admitted at the time to covering up for relevant priests and transferring them to other parishes, and resigned from his post. Compensation payments and legal costs, which have so far totaled well over two billion U.S. dollars (daily rate: 1.37 billion euros) nationwide, have brought several dioceses to the brink of insolvency.
U.S. bishops discuss recommendations for presidential election U.S. Catholic bishops deliberate on recommendations for next year's presidential election at their fall plenary meeting in Baltimore. No partisanship is expected for any particular candidate. However, the conference wants to develop a catalog of moral guidelines for considering candidates. Since 1970, the Catholic bishops have published a guide for Catholic voters for each U.S. presidential election.In a present draft, referring to abortion and embryo research, it says: "Catholics may feel disenfranchised if they find that no party and too few candidates fully share what the Church represents in its commitment to the dignity of the human person."In making their decision, voters should in any case be guided more by their moral convictions than by their allegiance to a particular party. Where necessary, he said, one must change and shape one's party rather than let the party deform one's views. – A vote on the document is expected Wednesday.
Cardinal George new president of U.S. bishops' conference Cardinal Francis George (70), archbishop of Chicago, is the new president of the U.S. bishops' conference. He was elected Tuesday to succeed Bishop William Skylstad, 73, of Spokane by 188 of 222 votes. Overall, 85 percent of U.S. bishops voted for George. He is considered an energetic leader and a beacon of hope for the bishops' conference, which represents a total of about 67 million U.S. Catholics.The U.S. church had lost influence in U.S. politics in recent years in the wake of sexual abuse scandals. George was also accused of poor handling of sexual abuse by a priest. In spring 2006, the abuse victims' organization SNAP even called for his resignation, accusing him of not taking strong enough action against an incriminated priest. The cardinal apologized several times for his actions.George was elected on 16. Born Jan. 1937 and consecrated bishop in 1990. In 1998, Pope John Paul II appointed him. as cardinal. Before his appointment to Chicago in 1997, he was archbishop of Portland, Oregon, and bishop of Yakima, Washington state. As vicar general of his order, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, George worked in Rome from 1974 to 1986. Experts expect him to strengthen and better connect the institution.
Refusal of communion for Catholic politicians The bishops do not address the ie of denying communion to Catholic politicians who dissent from the church's teachings in the guide, according to Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, chairman of the bishops' conference's interior committee, on Monday (local time). The document was addressed to Catholic voters, not Catholic politicians.In recent weeks, the archbishop of St. Louis, Raymond Burke, announced he would deny communion to Rudolph Giuliani, the Republican presidential hopeful and former mayor of New York who is currently ahead in polls, because he supports abortion rights. The ie had also played a larger role in the 2004 presidential campaign.