NEW THIS MORNING – POPE BACK IN ROME
NEW YORK (AP) – Pope Benedict is back in Rome, having wrapped up a six-day pilgrimage to the United States.
He left behind the impression of a compassionate and candid leader who has made a successful transition from professor to pontiff. But it’s uncertain whether his visit will make a lasting imprint.
Catholic writer Russell Shaw, a former spokesman for the U.S. bishops’ conference, says the trip was “an enormous success” in the short term. But Shaw says it’s “anyone’s guess” whether the trip will have a significant outcome concerning the large problems that American Catholicism faces.
Another Catholic observer, Bill McGarvey, praised Benedict for meeting with victims of clergy sex abuse, and for mentioning the scandal repeatedly.
A Connecticut woman who was at yesterday’s Yankee Stadium Mass says “this was absolutely the perfect time for him to come.” She thinks America’s economy and morality are failing.
