Pope’s visit to the America’s capital is meant to be visit to whole U.S. Church

Baltimore, Md., Nov 13, 2007 / 08:00 am

On Monday at the U.S. Bishops’ Conference, details of the Pope’s spring visit to the U.S. were announced and to the surprise of many, only two major cities made the itinerary—New York and Washington D.C.

When asked why Benedict’s trip is so selective, Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington D.C. explained that by visiting the capital, the Pope wishes to visit the whole American Church.  

Noting that Pope Benedict will turn 81 on April 17, Bishop Skylstad, explained that the papal trip doesn’t include other notable American cities so that the Holy Father could conserve his energy.

Archbishop Donald Wuerl, who will be the first to welcome the Pope to the U.S., said that “the fact that the journey was announced as an apostolic journey to the United States… shows that the Holy Father wants to representationally visit the whole Church.”

When asked how the Holy Father’s visit could affect the American political scene, Bishop Skylstad insisted that the Church’s stance on how we interface with politics is very clear. The Church always attempts to not be partisan in the political realm and as such the Pope’s visit will not be an attempt to influence the U.S. presidential elections.

Wuerl said at the press conference that the visit should be a “renewal of the faith life in the United States” and an opportunity that will call the whole country to put a relationship with God at the forefront of their relationships with others.