CatholiC VoiCe — P1oCtober 5, 2015

Pope urges U.S. Catholics to keep enthusiasm, welcome newcomers

Pope Francis ended his Sept. 22-27 trip to the United States with a call for Catholics to keep the enthusiasm of the visit, while continuing to welcome newcomers and care for creation.

“Do not let your enthusiasm for Jesus, his church, our families and the broader family of society run dry,” Pope Francis

said at Philadelphia international airport, prior to flying back to rome. “i pray that our days of prayer and reflection on the importance of the family for a healthy society will inspire families to continue to strive for holiness and to see the church as their constant companion, whatever the challenges they may face.” in just over five full days in the U.S., Pope Francis reaffirmed the impor-tance of church and family life, pleaded for inclusive attitudes toward immigrants, reiterated the right of religious freedom and called for action on climate change and care for creation. the trip reaffirmed the pope’s enormous popularity with Catholics and non-Catholics alike as large crowds convened— even with tight security— while media coverage was comprehensive. Pope Francis, who met again with Vice President Joe biden just prior to leaving Sept. 27, acknowledged the warmth of the welcome in his final remarks. “Your care for me and your generous welcome are a sign of your love for Jesus and your faithfulness to him. So, too, is your care for the poor, the sick, the homeless and the immigrant, your defense of life at every stage, and your concern for family life,” Pope Francis said. “in all of this, you recognize that Jesus is in your midst and that your care for one another is care for Jesus himself.”

— Catholic News Service

“So too is your care for the poor, the sick, the homeless and the immigrant, your defense of life at every stage and your concern for family life. In all of this,

you recognize that Jesus is in your midst and that your care for one another is care for Jesus himself.” — Pope Francis

VerY reV. GeorGe MoCKel/SPeCial to the CatholiC VoiCe

When not riding in a Jeep popemobile in parades, transportation for much of Pope Francis’ visit was in a four-door black Fiat 500L bearing the license plate “SCV 1” (Vatican City-State), often with the window rolled down and escorted by large, black SUVs.

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Pope Francis blesses a prisoner while he visited for about an hour at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia on Sept. 27. Pope Francis said prisons must focus on rehabilitation, and he insisted that no one is perfect and without need of forgiveness.

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The musical group Sister Sledge performs at the Festival of Families during the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia Sept. 26.

Souvenir section of Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S.

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Pope Francis waves to the crowd as he

arrives to celebrate the

final Mass for the World Meeting

of Families along Benjamin

Franklin Parkway in

Philadelphia Sept. 27.

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“His Holiness Pope Francis reminded us of our sacred duty: to protect and advocate for the most vulnerable and voiceless in our society and our world. His call for peace and justice should inspire Congress and

our entire nation. As we work to address the immense challenges facing our nation — climate change, persistent poverty, and global conflicts — the pope’s call for mutual understanding has never been more timely or necessary. We must strive to end

all injustices that devalue human dignity, especially inequality and war. During his speech, the Pope called on Congress ‘to

avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever proves troublesome.’ He is right — we cannot afford to delay cooperation,

however difficult it might be, while our planet and our people suffer.”— Rep. Barbara Lee, D-oakland

“What touched me the most was that where he was standing at the podium, and where John Boehner and Joe Biden were sitting, above

them, etched in that marble, was ‘In God We Trust.’ I hope everyone gets the point, that our

Holy Father, in addressing Congress and addressing us that day, here is someone we

trust to embody that motto. He came here trusting in God. That was truly the message

overall he gave to us. Trust in God. It’s not just a motto; it’s a way of living. He struggles to embody that.”

— Very Rev. James V. Matthews, rector of the Cathedral of Christ the light, oakland

“It was 27 years ago today that I stood in St. Peter’s Square, rehearsing for the beatification. My mentor, Father Noel

Moholy, said to me, ‘I’ve brought Father Serra to

the church door,’ (meaning beatification).

‘Maybe you’ll live long enough to carry him down

the aisle for canonization.’”

— Andrew Galvan

“We support Father Serra’s canonization. He

protected our people. He took care of their

human rights against the soldiers. He risked

his life to protect them.” He told Pope Francis his

prayer is to recover the Indian remains in museum and university collection and return them to

their tribes for a proper burial.

— Tony Cerda, tribal chairman of the rumsen ohlone

“I hope the reconciliation can begin,” Trevino said

who also told Pope Francis that Father Serra had baptized

his ancestors at Mission Carmel.

— Louis Trevino, a member of the rumsen ohlone tribe

Souvenir section of Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S.

Meeting with CongressMaking history by being the first pope ever to address a joint meeting of Congress, Pope Francis was introduced to the legislators by the House sergeant at arms Sept. 24 as: “Mr. Speaker, the pope of the Holy See.” Vice President Joe Biden, left, and Speaker of the House John Boehner look on in the House of Representatives Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. In a long speech, Pope Francis gave the sense that he sees the United States as a country divided, one so focused on calling each other names that it risks losing sight of how impressive it can be when its people come together for the common good. That is when it is a beacon of hope for the world, he said. Pope Francis condemned legalized abortion, the death penalty and unscrupulous weapons sales. He called on Congress to “seize the moment” by moving forward with normalizing relations with Cuba. He referred to himself as a “son of immigrants” — and pointing out that many of the leg-islators are, too — he pleaded for greater openness to accept-ing immigrants. “I would like to take this opportunity to dia-logue with the many thousands of men and women who strive each day to do an honest day’s work, to bring home their daily bread, to save money and — one step at a time — to build a better life for their families,” the pope said. “A nation can be considered great when it defends liberty as Lincoln did; when it fosters a culture which enables people to ‘dream’ of full rights for all their brothers and sisters as Martin Luther King sought to do; when it strives for justice and the cause of the oppressed as Dorothy Day did by her tireless work; the fruit of a faith which becomes dialogue and sows peace in the contem-plative style of Thomas Merton,” the pope said.

Father Serra canonized

People watch a live broadcast of Pope Francis celebrating the canonization

of Junipero Serra Sept. 23 outside San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo

Mission in Carmel. The Mass marked the canonization of Junipero Serra,

a Franciscan missionary from Spain who founded nine Catholic

missions in the area that would later become California. It was the

first canonization performed on U.S. soil. The excitement for the Mass and historic canonization united

Christians across denominational divides, though it was not without

controversy. Some objected to the canonization because of the

maltreatment of Native Americans during St. Serra’s time.

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CatholiC VoiCe — P3oCtober 5, 2015

“The thing that impressed me the most was the young woman who did the second reading. It was a

young woman with Down Syndrome who climbed up there. She was in front of the pope, she was in front of 25,000 people. She was on national television, she was on world television. How

much she must have practiced!”

— Bishop Michael C. Barber, SJ, two days later, at a Mass for pilgrims from the Diocese of oakland

“The timing of the Pope’s message couldn’t be better, she noted. “As Sisters of Mercy, we are looking at current needs of the world and how we want to move into the future. We must be mindful of the

words of Pope Francis who tells us to open ourselves and not let our history or our fears

close us to the needs of others.”

— Sister Laura Reicks, rSM, president of the Sisters of Mercy of the americas West Midwest Community

Souvenir section of Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S.

People come first, human life is sacred, pope insists at U.N.Dealing with war, development, the economy or environmental concerns, bureaucrats and dip-lomats always must remember that the lives of real children, women and men are at stake, Pope Francis told the United Nations in New York. Helping to celebrate the organization’s 70th anniversary, Pope Francis visit-ed its headquarters Sept. 25 and pleaded with government lead-ers and U.N. officials to keep the dignity and sacredness of every human life and the value of all creatures at the center of their concern. Pope Francis called for real, concrete action to stem climate change; respect for every human life and for “the natural difference between man and woman”; economic decisions that place the needs of people before profits; and greater con-trols on weapons sales and the elimination of nuclear weapons.

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Madison Square GardenSeeing New York for the first time

in his 78 years of life, Pope Francis said he knew Madison Square Garden

was an important gathering place for sporting events and concerts.

For him, it was transformed into a chapel in the heart of the Big Apple. True peace in a big city comes from

seeing the vast variety of people not as a bother, but as a brother

or sister, Pope Francis said in his homily during the Mass Sept. 25 at “The Garden” where 20,000 people

gathered to pray with him. With tough security and long lines, people

arrived hours early. They prayed and listened to inspirational music

sung live by Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Hudson and Harry Connick Jr. Jesus

urges his disciples “to go out and meet others where they really are, not where we think they should be,” Pope

Francis said in his homily.

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In New York City“His message has transformed this city,” said Cristina Hernandez, who was traveling with young catechists from her parish, St. Anthony of Oakland. “Everyone is talking about him.”

U.S. President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and Pope Francis

wave from the south portico of the White House in

Washington Sept. 23. The pope and New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan each left a single white rose on the edge of the fountain in Memorial

Plaza. Pope Francis also met briefly with 20 family

members of fallen first responders, shaking their

hands, blessing them and listening to them

carefully with the help of an interpreter.

JoShUa robertS/CNS CoUrteSY Photo

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Doug Bauman talks on his phone as he waits for the arrival of Pope Francis for the closing Mass of the World Meeting of Families Sept. 27 in Philadelphia. The father of three traveled with his family from Indianapolis for the world meeting.

Pope Francis greets Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin during the closing Mass of the World Meeting of Families on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia Sept. 27. The 2018 World Meeting of Families is to be held in Dublin. The church in Ireland, still reeling and healing from a major sex-abuse scandal, has also experienced a decrease in church attendance and vocations to the priesthood and religious life over several years. The World Meeting of Families in Dublin will be the second large-scale church event in Ireland in the past decade; Dublin hosted the International Eucharistic Congress in 2012.

Closing MassPope Francis arrives to celebrate the closing Mass of the World Meeting of Families on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia on Sept. 27. The pope called upon the faith-ful to embrace signs that the Holy Spirit can work through everyone. He referred to the readings in the multilingual Mass — from the Book of Numbers and the Gospel of Mark — in which members of the faith community questioned the work of those not part of their group and for prophesying in the name of God. Illustrating his point before the Mass, Pope Francis engaged in “little gestures” himself along the papal parade route to the Mass, kissing and blessing many babies brought to him from the sidewalk throngs by Secret Service agents, who themselves man-aged to crack smiles after days of maintaining a stern demeanor as they guarded the pontiff. Pope Francis recalled that Jesus encountered “hos-tility from people who did not accept what he said and did,” saying they thought it intolerable that Christ was open to honest and sincere faith from men and women who were not part of God’s chosen people. He held up the family as vital to building the church for the future. “What kind of world do we want to leave to our children?” he asked, referencing a line in his encyc-lical “Laudato Si’, On Care for Our Common Home.”Pa

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Souvenir section of Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S.

“It was like he was speaking right to

us,” said Rev. Aidan McAleenan, pastor of

St. Columba Parish in Oakland, with Rev.

Bryan Massingale of Marquette University, left. The consensus of the group of pilgrims,

who also attended a PICO summit in

Philadelphia, was what the pope was asking of people is “what we do

at St. Columba.”M

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