Bishop Kmiec attends papal events at White House, National Basilica

On his first full day in the United States and on the occasion of his 81st birthday on April 16, Pope Benedict XVI made a public appearance at the White House in Washington, D.C., in the morning, and then held a private vesper service to address the bishops of the U.S. in the evening. Bishop Edward U. Kmiec was on hand for both events at the nation’s capital.

“It was very encouraging,” Bishop Kmiec said. “It was a big day for him.”

The pope began his day by meeting with President George W. Bush after thousands of people outside sang happy birthday to Pope Benedict XVI. The pontiff, who is only the second pope to visit the White House, was appreciative of the warm welcome.

“I come as a friend, a preacher of the Gospel and one with great respect for this vast pluralistic society,” the pope said in a heavy German accent. “Democracy can only flourish, as your founding fathers realized, when political leaders and those whom they represent are guided by truth.”

After an afternoon break, Pope Benedict XVI arrived at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Catholic church in North America and one of the ten largest churches in the world. The pope met the nation’s bishops in the crypt of the basilica, which is dedicated to the Madonna of the Catacombs, for the vesper service. He addressed the bishops afterwards.

“America is a land of great faith,” Pope Benedict XVI said. “Your people are remarkable for their religious fervor and they take pride in belonging to a worshipping community. They have confidence in God, and they do not hesitate to bring moral arguments rooted in biblical faith into their public discourse.”

But the pope also confronted the bishops about the clergy sexual abuse scandal, as Pope Benedict XVI clearly decided to address the issue publicly.

“It is your God-given responsibility as pastors to bind up the wounds caused by every breach of trust, to foster healing, to promote reconciliation and to reach out with loving concern to those so seriously wronged. Responding to this situation has not been easy, and, as the president of your Episcopal Conference has indicated, it was ‘sometimes very badly handled.’ Now that the scale and gravity of the problem is more clearly understood, you have been able to adopt more focused remedial and disciplinary measures and to promote a safe environment that gives greater protection to young people.”

Bishop Kmiec said the pope was very forthright in acknowledging the scandal.

“He wanted everybody to know that he was aware (of the issue),” the bishop said. “He recognized how awful this was. When you look back on it now, you can see that it was such a wrong approach to take. Since that time, the bishops learned to be very serious about it.”

Pope Benedict XVI also addressed the secularization of America, asking Catholics to lead stronger faith-filled lives under the traditional doctrine rather than ignoring some central tenets.

“Perhaps America’s brand of secularism poses a particular problem,” the pope said. “It allows for professing belief in God, and respects the public role of religion and the Churches, but at the same time, it can subtly reduce religious belief to a lowest common denominator.”

Bishop Kmiec said the pope’s visit to the states is intended as one to revitalize faith, not drive people from it.

“It’s a message of hope,” the bishop said. “He’s not here to criticize, but rather to say that we have a wonderful thing in our Catholic faith and let’s keep it alive.”