NYC Catholics Love the Pope
City Catholics are filled with hope that the papal visit will reinvigorate the church.
Pope Benedict XVI may have earned the nickname “God’s Rottweiler” for his die-hard strict interpretation of Catholic law. His beliefs may have even been criticized by some as “medieval” or “backward.” But when the 81-year-old Benedict landed in the United States on Tuesday afternoon for a six-day tour, something shifted. The issues he’s been tackling with world and church leaders are resonating with Catholics on the ground; and many in New York City this weekend said they couldn’t be happier.
“I’ve been nailed to my TV since Benedict arrived here yesterday,” said Menchu Tensuan, an assistant to several priests at the Saint Anslem Church rectory in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, a predominantly Catholic neighborhood.
Tensuan, a Pilipino who came to the U.S. four years ago, sat in the rectory’s anteroom, which had several framed portraits of Pope Benedict on the walls. She said she had always admired the German-born pope, but now has a new appreciation for him.
“This United States tour seems like a real bridge and image building mission,” she said.
It’s what many religion critics say American Catholic churches, short on funds and clergy, and grappling with image problems, need.
“Did you see how he [Benedict] met with the Rabbi? Wasn’t that lovely?” said Tensuan, referring to the Holy See’s Friday meeting with Rabbi Arthur Schneier at Manhattan’s Park East Synagogue, marking the first time a pope has visited an American synagogue.
But the meeting’s timing was probably no accident. The pope has come under attack recently for reinstating a Friday prayer beseeching Jews to convert to Christianity. Benedict, it is said, believes that the only path to heaven is through the church.
Despite such beliefs, Pete Sorchia, a retiree in Bay Ridge, still thinks that this week’s visit will have remarkable results for the Catholic church.
“Watch, with this type of visit, you’re going to get a lot of converts,” said Sorchia, 80, who was wearing a camouflage Yankees cap that had nearly a dozen buttons picturing Catholic saints fastened to it. “This visit is going to reign back in a lot of the Catholics who went away.”
Benedict’s trip, many around the city on Saturday felt, came at the perfect time: The Catholic Church’s attendance rates in the U.S. have been dismal, a reaction to the widespread child sex abuse scandals, which began coming to light in 2002.
It’s Benedict’s meeting this issue head on — going as far as talking face to face with several of the sex abuse victims — that has given some Catholics hope that the church will rebound.
“I’m impressed. Benedict has really made a concerted effort to address the priests and the sex abuse problem,” said Delia Cornacchia, standing in front of Most Precious Blood, a small chapel on Mulberry Street in Little Italy. Cornacchia, who taught at several Catholic high schools in the past two decades, continued: “Benedict has also, which is very important, addressed those in charge of the abusive priests. He’s reminded them that their first and most important duty is to protect the children of the church.”
Like Tensuan, Cornacchia thought that only good could come of speaking on the abuse issue and meeting with religious leaders of other faiths. Cornacchia believes such actions indicate that the pope is on a journey to spread a powerful message and is not acting politically.
But some other Catholics in New York City wish he would.
On a sleepy, brownstone-lined street in Washington Heights, Alba Santos stood in front of her church, Our Lady of Esperanza, and said that if she could have 30 seconds of the pope’s time this weekend, she’d ask him to chastise President Bush.
“Ratzinger should tell our president, ‘Stop making war. Too many mothers have lost their children,’” said Santos, a Dominican born, Washington Heights resident of 35 years. Santos also said she wishes she could have Benedict ask Bush, “How does war have anything to do with Christianity or Catholicism?”
Though Santos doubts Benedict will ask anythining of the sort, she says she’s not mad at the Holy See. In fact, Santos said she’s actually a big supporter of Benedict and appreciates his stricter interpretation of Catholic doctrine.
“Faith plays a huge part of keeping this community together,” she said before walking into Our Lady of Esperanza for a social event. “Benedict’s message isn’t always easy to accept — he can be very honest — but he does want to keep us together, the Catholics.”