The Pope might release a statement here similar to the one he recently released regarding Catholicism in China. By the time anyone figures it out, he’ll be back in Rome.
One thing he could do is quote Pope Pius XII as Ronald Reagan did. Better yet, he could quote Ronald Reagan quoting the pope:
“We cannot escape our destiny, nor should we try to do so. The leadership of the free world was thrust upon us two centuries ago in that little hall of Philadelphia. In the days following World War II, when the economic strength and power of America was all that stood between the world and the return to the dark ages, Pope Pius XII said, ‘The American people have a great genius for splendid and unselfish actions. Into the hands of America God has placed the destinies of an afflicted mankind.’”
“We are indeed, and we are today, the last best hope of man on earth.” ~ Ronald Reagan
“Shining City” speech at the first CPAC conference in 1974.
All the Pope is doing is bringing out Catholic doctrine that has been neglected for the last 40 years. Faith is a gift: but human reason is capable of perceiving God through his work. Obviously, this is completed through the preaching of the Gospel, the acceptance of revealed truth, and, ultimately, faith. But in Catholic theology, God has left his mark on his creation for all to see; furthermore, he has created Man in his Image and Likeness, so we really have all the information we need. Faith - that is, the personal relationship - is a gift and something that can either be accepted or rejected.
On the practical level, this is the basis for Catholic natural law theory, which of course is enshrined in our Constitution (the Enlightenment simply took many classical pre-Reformation Christian concepts and secularized them).
**Benedict is not going to America to make headlines. He is coming to the United States as the pope, shepherd to Catholics in America and head of the Vatican City State.**
A true shepherd.
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