Let me link you to another blog, a friends blog, who's got a very interesting article on a "possible Papal visit to the U.S.......what would B16 find?"
Here you go....
The Next Visit by a Pope: my Dream
Like many Catholics, I followed the whirlwind 6-day visit to the US by Pope Benedict XVI on TV and in the newspapers. The media brought Benedict’s journey into my living room. I saw throngs of people cheer Benedict at every turn of the pope-mobile. When I saw the crowds, I wondered how this visit would be helpful to the church and in particular to Catholic women. I was exhilarated watching the Pope celebrate the Eucharist in a packed sporting arena converted for this occasion, feeling a connection to the holy ritual and traditions that have been part of my life from childhood. I was surprised at the intensity of the connection I felt. But it was satisfying to locate the leader of my church within my familiar and personal world.Faces of many races streamed across my TV screen, women and men in worship at the papal mass. As the Pope left the altar constructed on the field of the stadium in the Bronx, the TV cameras panned out, providing a wide-angled view of the multitude assembled in the stands and on the field. Those nearest the departing Pope strained to catch Benedict’s gaze, to touch him, to reach out and kiss the papal ring. A few received that touch; yet many were constrained behind physical barriers, making it impossible to move toward the Pope, to catch his gaze, or to speak words of welcome.The cameras lingered on the image of the Pope surrounded by a cohort of acolytes and cardinals and bishops, a sight that at first conveyed the notion of unity, a conformity in the posture and dress. Yet, despite the joy of the occasion, I realized the starkness of this image - the absence of the feminine presence in the group nearest the Pope. The all-male procession exiting the altar area did not truly represent my understanding of the “one, holy, catholic and apostolic church;” these men were my church hierarchy. When people finally began to leave and the sports stadium emptied, I was left with a lingering image of a man-made structure that will soon be obsolete to the new stadium construction unfolding nearby.As I reflect on the Pope’s visit, I am heartened by the model of pastoral sensitivity and compassion of the Pope, evidenced in his meeting with a representative group of victims of clergy sexual abuse who came from the Boston area. I am heartened that Benedict voiced our shame that so many have been abused and victimized, and shame that so little was done to stop the evil and help heal the wounds caused by the abuse and cover-up. But I am also saddened that some events did not take place during Benedict’s visit. I think about those in ministry who are relegated to unimportant or powerless positions because of their gender and the structural fault lines that marginalize the laity from leadership in our church. I think of the man-made barriers and disciplines that separate women from greater roles in the church, in particular women who serve the church in ministry. Meeting with women in ministry during the papal visit would have helped identify these women as an untapped resource waiting to serve in an even greater ministry within the church.My parish does not differ greatly from many other Catholic parishes. If Benedict came incognito to my parish, whom would he encounter? A woman greeting him at our door, a woman cantor leading us in song, confident and well-prepared female lectors, numerous women serving as Eucharistic ministers, and a choir rich in women’s voice, a male pastor and perhaps a male deacon. According to data from the 2008 Pew Foundation report, fifty-four percent of Catholics in the US are women. If Benedict called my parish office, he would first speak with one of the women secretaries, or the lay religious woman who is our pastoral associate, and then perhaps with the female religious education coordinators, the female volunteers who teach religious education, and perhaps with women serving on our parish and diocesan pastoral councils. If Benedict happened on our Sunday Evening Prayer services, he might witness a woman breaking open Holy Scripture, preaching a richly insightful and often-overlooked female perspective on what has been revealed to us through Jesus and Scripture. The Pope would see women’s service to the life of our parish, and he would sense the desire of women to participate more fully in all fields of the church’s apostolate. And surely, Benedict would encounter the feminine presence of God in my Catholic parish.For women bring a unique human quality to their work in ministry. Undeniably, there are rich differences between men and women, which is the very dynamic of creation. It is this difference that makes life possible, that gives life variety, and that demonstrates God’s glory in all facets. It would have been helpful for women in ministry to participate in a meeting with the pope because meeting with the head of our church validates their ministry. The act of meeting would be a visible sign of recognition of their ministry and a valuation of their status as ministers. I have this dream.I dream of a future papal visit to the US during which women in ministry would meet with the Pope and spend time in conversation. In my dream, women would benefit from the pope’s undivided attention and talk openly of their concerns as female ministers in our church. The Pope and women in ministry would talk of fair wages and opportunities for advancement. With compassionate ears, the Pope would hear of their attempts to overcome obstacles and limitations placed on their service to the People of God because of their gender. Surely, Benedict will encounter the Spirit in their struggle and in the many unique gifts that women bring to their ministry.If a Pope would meet with women in ministry anywhere in the US, he would encounter female lay ecclesial ministers, women in religious congregations, female pastoral life coordinators, female parish secretaries and clerical staff, female nurses, doctors, and administrators in Catholic hospitals, women college presidents and professors, school principals and teachers in Catholic education, and female religious education directors, volunteers, music and liturgical ministers. The reality of my dream is that the Pope would experience the warm, inviting welcome of dedicated women who live Christian lives of service in the world. In my dream I envision women in ministry breaking bread with the Pope. And in the sharing of their food and stories of service to the church, women would be offering nourishment for the body and spirit. The Pope will see first hand the vast potential of leadership in the women who work in church ministry; the Pope will see these women who are called and gifted to lead within the universal Church.What topics would women in ministry want to discuss with the Pope? Women in ministry would talk about the church. Pope Benedict XVI himself named the church “God’s instrument.” And he has called members of the church the “People of God,” reminiscent of Vatican Council II proclamations issued by his predecessors. Women would want to talk of ministry by women as vital to the daily life of the church and as an indispensable tool for the church. Women are accomplishing so much of the work of the church. The often-subservient roles women have in church ministry may be influenced by social and cultural beliefs. I dream of a church that will name this social injustice and elevate the work of women in ministry and invite women into leadership and governance positions. Women would talk with the Pope of being catalysts for change in society, of being the channels for the working of the Spirit in the world. The gifts of women are often the means by which God cares for his people. Another topic at a meeting between the Pope and women in ministry would certainly be the need to re-examine the role of women in church ministry and church governance.During the next papal visit to the US, I dream that the Pope will cross barriers, will reach out and meet with women who serve the church, and will personally encounter women ministering with all their talents and abilities to serve the people of God. Surely, such meetings would enrich the Pope’s understanding of the need to invite women into greater ministry in the church. Such is my hope and prayer.Echoing the words of Peter Steinfels in a recent New York Times article on Pope Benedict XVI and the lasting impact of his trip to the US: it is not every brief visitor to the US who leaves his hosts thinking about a kingdom of justice and peace. This papal visit has given me hope: hope that there will be understanding that women are being called into greater ministry in the church, hope in the workings of the Spirit, and hope for change. And with the psalmist I believe I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.-Patricia Gomez
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