When the Pope takes the time to sit down and personally deliver an encyclical explaining the purpose of a pending historic visit, you know he is picking his words carefully. Fortunately, we are blessed with modern technology that enables all of us to listen directly to what he is saying without depending on any self-appointed media clerics as intermediaries.
Prior to his departure, he delivered a Message to the United States. In his encyclical he explained the theme of his visit:
Together with your bishops, I have chosen as a theme of this journey three simple, but essential words...
Sound familiar? Yes.It.Does.
Pope Benedict XVI is the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church. He is also Head of State for Vatican City, a sovereign nation-state. Thus, his visits are both pastoral and diplomatic. His arrival in Washington marks his first visit to the United States as Pope. If there was ever a time when words mattered, this historic event would be one of them. You can be sure any words uttered by the pontiff in public have been carefully chosen to convey specific meaning. In short, he comes bearing a message.
It's no surprise the mainstream media, rife with infotainers, has chosen to focus on his remarks regarding past scandals. Those comments invoke a whole raft of salacious material guaranteed to boost ratings. However, speaking to people who attended his recent Mass in DC, there is more to the Pope's message than that. Much more.
So what exactly did he say?
The intention is to reach out spiritually to all Catholics. At the same time I earnestly hope that my presence among you will be seen as a sign of friendship to members of various traditions and all men and women of good will.
Together with your bishops, I have chosen as a theme of this journey three simple, but essential words...Christ Our Hope.
The fact this theme was chosen in consultation with the American bishops is a signal that this is what they think is most important and relevant to their flock at this moment. But the Pope does more than signal his intentions. He emphasizes his main point.
I shall also bring the message of Christian Hope to the great assembly of the United Nations, to the representatives of all the peoples of the world. Indeed, the world has greater need of Hope than ever. Hope for peace, for justice and freedom. But this Hope can never be fulfilled without obedience to the law of God which Christ brought to fulfillment in the commandment to "Love one another."
When the Pope repeatedly uses the same word in an official address, it is not because he can't find a thesaurus. It's because that word is important to his message. In this case the word is Hope.
The same message was repeated and amplified in the homily he delivered at Nationals Stadium. The word "hope" was used at least 17 times throughout the Mass. I have pulled a few sections in a way that keeps them in context so you can see I am not projecting or reading in some unintended message:
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The Church in the United States is now called to look to the future, firmly grounded in the faith passed on by previous generations, and ready to meet new challenges — challenges no less demanding than those faced by your forebears — with the hope born of God's love, poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom 5:5).
Dear friends, my visit to the United States is meant to be a witness to "Christ our hope". Americans have always been a people of hope: your ancestors came to this country with the expectation of finding new freedom and opportunity, while the vastness of the unexplored wilderness inspired in them the hope of being able to start completely anew, building a new nation on new foundations. To be sure, this promise was not experienced by all the inhabitants of this land; one thinks of the injustices endured by the native American peoples and by those brought here forcibly from Africa as slaves. Yet hope, hope for the future, is very much a part of the American character. And the Christian virtue of hope — the hope poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, the hope which supernaturally purifies and corrects our aspirations by focusing them on the Lord and his saving plan — that hope has also marked, and continues to mark, the life of the Catholic community in this country.
Read that last paragraph again and you can't help but recall the speech given by Obama in New Hampshire. That was the same speech that provided the lyrics for the song by will.i.am, Yes We Can.
The parallels are too strong and too frequent to be mere coincidence. Returning to the doctrinal language of the church, the Pope closed by reinforcing that message of Hope in the context of fundamental teachings.
"In hope we were saved!" (Rom 8:24)." As the Church in the United States gives thanks for the blessings of the past two hundred years, I invite you, your families, and every parish and religious community, to trust in the power of grace to create a future of promise for God's people in this country. I ask you, in the Lord Jesus, to set aside all division and to work with joy to prepare a way for him, in fidelity to his word and in constant conversion to his will. Above all, I urge you to continue to be a leaven of evangelical hope in American society, striving to bring the light and truth of the Gospel to the task of building an ever more just and free world for generations yet to come.
Those who have hope must live different lives! (cf. Spe Salvi, 2). By your prayers, by the witness of your faith, by the fruitfulness of your charity, may you point the way towards that vast horizon of hope which God is even now opening up to his Church, and indeed to all humanity: the vision of a world reconciled and renewed in Christ Jesus, our Savior. To him be all honor and glory, now and forever. Amen.
FOX News' Shep Smith may like to think the Pope is an "honorary Republican" but if you listen to what the Pope is saying, he is clearly delivering a message to his flock. The three words he is spreading from coast to coast, from sea to shining sea is a message for Action, a message calling for Change, a message of HOPE. Yes.He.Is.
Instead of letting the media distract us with titillating tidbits about sexual abuse, I believe the message of Hope is the one we need to ponder. Speaking to Catholics who were at the Mass in DC, I can tell you they are meditating on that message as it applies to their lives. That message at this moment takes on special import when you consider that Catholics account for roughly 25% of all Americans.
This is an amazing opportunity but also a challenge. If we are building a truly broadbased coalition, one consequence of that is many of us will have to make an extra effort to be more flexible than ever before. Specifically, those who feel completely at ease in the secular left have to honestly examine our feelings and prejudices towards those who see their call to social action as a natural extension of their faith.
Throughout this campaign Obama has distinguished himself by turning challenges into opportunities. Now is the time for us to emulate that behavior. This challenge is a chance for us to show we are better not bitter, we are compassionate not condescending, we are inclusive not exclusive. This is not something Obama can do from the lectern. If we truly own this campaign then we have to accept this is our responsibility as organizers and foot soldiers in this campaign. Fortunately, Obama's campaign already anticipated this happy problem. Long before Yes.We.Can was their unofficial slogan, the campaign's official motto was "Respect. Empower. Include."
It turns out this is a lot easier to do than you might think. As Pope Benedict noted in his recent message to the United States, there is a simple way for all men and women of good will to find common ground:
Do to others as you would have them do to you, and avoid doing what you would not want them to do. This "golden rule" is given in the Bible, but it is valid for all people, including non-believers. It is the law written on the human heart; on this we can all agree, so that when we come to address other matters we can do so in a positive and constructive manner for the entire human community.