Below is an edited transcript of an interview given by Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Boston, to Boston Globe religion reporter Michael Paulson, on Friday, April 11, 2008, at the chancery in Brighton.
Q: Tell me a little about what the significance of this trip is that pope is making.
A: Well, for us as Catholics it's very important, of course. The Holy Father is the visible head of the church. He represents the ministry and the office of Peter, which is a divine institution for us. And it's his first visit here as the pope, and so there's quite a bit of excitement and expectation as we look forward to these days ahead.
Q: You've seen a lot of papal trips to a lot of places. What do you think the impact is of these kinds of visits?
A: I think it makes the pope closer to the people. I see that certainly in the ministry of John Paul II -- the fact that he made so many trips, it gave the papacy an immediacy that perhaps it had not had for Catholics for a long time outside of, say, Italy, or Europe. For so long, the popes considered themselves prisoners in the Vatican. Pope John XXIII took a trip to Assisi and that was considered something very newsworthy. Pope Paul was really the first one to make these apostolic trips. He visited New York and addressed the United Nations - a very powerful speech on war. He was in the Philippines and in Colombia. But it was really John Paul II who had incredible stamina and an ability to relate, and, of course, the number of trips that he made was just astounding. I'm sure that there is no other human being in the history of humanity who was seen personally by as many people as John Paul II.
Q: In the letter that you wrote to Boston Catholics the other day, you seemed to touch on a potential difference between Benedict and John Paul. You suggested that this pope should not be viewed as a 'rock star' or a 'celebrity.'
A: I don't think any pope should be viewed as a rock star or a celebrity. It's our spiritual leader. It's a shepherd. It's a connection with Christ. It's the office of the pope that is important to us. Just as, for Americans, the office of president is important, and whether you're a Democrat or a Republican or an independent, and whether you particularly like this president or dislike him, you still have a respect and a reverence for the office and all that it represents - it represents our country, our ideals, our democracy. And so it is that the pope is just more than a personality. He represents an office that is something that has come to us as a gift, from Christ, to promote the unity and the catholicity of the church. And, being a church of over one billion people, who, as I always say, come in every size, shape and color, and speak every language imaginable, to have that focus of unity in the office of the papacy is very important. Any visit to Rome will demonstrate just how that is so, when you see pilgrims from all over the world. For the last 2,000 years they've been going to the tombs of the apostles and to see the pope of Rome.
Q: Tell me a little about your relationship with this pope. How well did you know him before he became pope?
A: I had been with him on a number of occasions. Actually, my last ad limina visit when I was bishop in Fall River, he was still the head of the CDF (the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) and I had a very long meeting with him. That was the longest meeting I've ever had with him. It may have been an hour or so. I was very surprised when, as archbishop of Boston, I went and had another personal meeting with him, and he remembered so much about our first meeting, and about things that I had told him. He does have a great recall. He's very easy to speak to. He puts you at ease. He's quite intellectual. And I've obviously been with him at a number of meetings, but those were the two times when I sat with him for 45 minutes, an hour or so, and just had a one-on-one conversation. Most of my other meetings with him have been in meetings with other cardinals, or other bishops, or liturgical celebrations.
Q: In what ways do you think American Catholics will be surprised? What are they going to see that they don't already know?
A: Well, those who don't have any experience of him, I think, will see that he is a teacher. He is very clear and cogent in the way that he presents the doctrine of the church. John Paul II was perhaps more of a poet, and more of a philosopher, but Pope Benedict is a consummate professor, he's a teacher, and I think people who listen to his homilies and read his books are very, very impressed by the clarity of his thought, and I think that Americans will be very pleased by that.
Q: What do you know about how he views America?
A: Well, my impression is -- and I have not had a discussion with him about this -- my impression is that he is very favorably disposed towards the United States, being a modern culture, and a democratic society with such sophisticated technology, and, at the same time, a people that is so profoundly religious. And I think that the Holy Father is very impressed by that. I think he also sees that the church in the United States, by sheer numbers and resources, has a great influence over the church in other parts of the world, giving us an importance that is beyond just the church as it exists in this country.
Q: Tell me a little about how you're thinking now about the decision not to come to Boston.
A: (laughs) Well, I think he added ten years to my life by not coming. (laughs) But I fought very hard for him to come; I want you to know that. I think it would have been wonderful to have him here, but I understand that with his age, and the responsibilities that he has, that it wasn't possible for him to visit many places on this trip. And the trip is not just to a particular city, but to the church in the whole country. And we're delighted that we'll be able to carry the activities on Boston Catholic Television. And so many Catholics from Boston will be a part of the celebration. We have people, some going to the White House, and others to St. Patrick's. All the seminarians are going to Dunwoodie. We have 3,000 people going to the Mass at Yankee Stadium, which I'm told is in the largest suburb of Boston (laughs).
Q: What do you think the connection is between the decision not to come to Boston and the association of Boston with the abuse crisis?
A: I don't think that was what drove the decision. I think the fact that we were considered was perhaps because of the abuse crisis, rather than being disqualified, as it were, because of it. But the Holy Father's age, and the fact that he has a number of rather daunting trips that he's facing, particularly to Australia. He has had some health problems in the past, and that makes his staff very protective of him, I think, when it comes to these trips.
Q: I know you've thought a lot about healing in the wake of the abuse crisis. Is there anything that you would like to see him do this week?
A: I can't forecast what he's going to say, but I feel certain that he will address the abuse crisis and try to bring about healing in the church. Obviously this is such an important issue in the life of American Catholics, and I know that he's very aware of it, so I feel sure that he will address it during his trip.
Q: Have you had any input about how that might be handled?
A: I have participated in meetings, early on, in which we certainly tried to make it very clear to the nuncio that the bishops are expecting the Holy Father to address the abuse crisis and the nuncio assured us that he was confident that he would. We don't have access to the Holy Father's speeches, but I feel confident that the Holy Father is very aware of our needs, and our expectations, and we will not be disappointed.
Q: What about the question of whether he needs to/should/will meet with survivors?
A: Well, that is really his call. As I say, I am convinced that he is very aware of the needs of our country and certainly wants to be helpful to the church in the United States by his visit.
Q: I know you've met with maybe hundreds, certainly dozens of survivors. What's the impact been on you of those kinds of encounters?
A: I think it has been very positive, in helping to understand the serious damage that is occasioned by child abuse. I think in the past, people were not aware of the long-range effects. And, certainly, if you have the opportunity to meet with survivors, it becomes very apparent that this kind of tragic activity in their childhood often marks a person for life and is a source of great distress. It also, I think, has given me an opportunity to try and reach out to survivors and to help them to realize that in the Catholic Church we have a great sorrow for what happened to them. And many of the survivors themselves, in my experience, are looking for a way to reconnect with the church. Some have walked away from the church, but others have a real desire to have a relationship with the church.
Q: Are there particular things that you think would be helpful for him to say?
A: I'm sure that the need to stress the importance of the church's efforts to prevent child abuse, and to respond to it in an appropriate way, and to express sorrow and regret to those who have suffered and to their families. And I feel sure that these are the kinds of things that the Holy Father will address.
Q: So what will you be doing? I'm not sure which events, and what role you'll be playing, over the week.
A: (laughs) I'll be like a potted plant. (laughs). Well, I'll be at a lot of the events, but I think we're more there just to accompany the Holy Father. There is a welcoming ceremony at the White House on Wednesday, and actually I think there's a birthday lunch for him at the nunciature that day. Later on Wednesday, we will meet, all of the bishops, with the Holy Father at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Thursday is the Mass in the morning at the new stadium and then in the afternoon we'll meet at Catholic University with the college presidents and superintendent of schools. I will be at all of these…Friday I will be at a dinner with the Holy Father in New York at the mission to the United Nations…Saturday I'll come back to Boston for the (Catholic) men's conference. But I'll be back for the Mass at Yankee Stadium, and then I think I might be going to the airport to see him off.
Q: What's your sense of how significant this is for Catholics?
A: I think that, since it doesn't happen every year, that there is a certain excitement. The fact that he's only coming to two cities on the East Coast, I'm not sure that the rest of the country will have as much excitement as we have here, but from what I understand, there's people coming from all over the country to New York and to Washington, so I think that's a sign that there's a lot of buzz out there. And it's interesting, after John Paul II's death, a lot of people thought, well, the interest in the papacy is going to wane - he was such a public figure - and yet, to everyone's surprise, the Wednesday audiences in Rome have continued to grow under Benedict's papacy. I think the Holy Father's funeral, that was attended by millions of people, and the election of the pope, that was transmitted worldwide on television and the Internet and so forth, raised up in people's consciousness the office of the papacy, and so I think in our Catholic people there is an interest and an excitement about this visit.
Q: What else will you be listening for, beyond the abuse issue? What are the other things we should be watching for?
A: Well I'm very anxious to hear what the Holy Father has to say at the United Nations. I probably won't be at that talk, but I will make sure that I have a chance at least to listen to it, and I'm sure that the Holy Father will have a very important message for the international community, and will use that venue to impart it.
Q: There's been a lot of talk about how he's chosen a lot of very religious themes - that he's not here to talk about public policy, and in fact he's here to talk about Christianity.
A: Well, 'Christ our Hope' is the theme of the trip, and I would hope that people realize the Holy Father is coming to give us a spiritual message, and it certainly will be that. Now, at the United Nations, he may address social justice issues, war and peace. Certainly, he often talks about the relationship between faith and reason. The address to Catholic educators and to the Catholic university and college presidents will be an important statement about Catholic education, I'm sure, and for someone who has been involved in higher education for most of his life, I'm sure that will be something very important.
Q: How do you assess the state of the church that he will find here in America.
A: Well, this is a very religious country, and he knows that. The diversity of the church here is astounding, and I'm always amazed myself, as I go around the archdiocese and celebrate Mass for the Nigerians or the Syro-Malabars, and at the cathedral we have the Ge'ez, Ethiopians and Eritreans, and the Hispanics. And last week I had Mass for people in the Chinese Catholic community. The kind of variety among the Catholics in this country, and even the regional differences, I think, are very, very striking. And I think people in the United States are, as I say, very religious, and even those beyond the pope will, I think, give him a hearing.
Q: Do you think his reputation as a doctrinal enforcer was unfounded, or has he changed?
A: Before, it was sort of a stereotype that was presented in the media. The Holy Father has always been an academic, he's a great theologian, and in the role that he had, his responsibilities were to review theological writings and practices and to enter into conversations with theologians, and to issue corrections when necessary. He was simply carrying out his job. I think that once he became pope, and people actually saw him, he ceased to be just a concept. He became a person to them. And he is a very warm and very engaging and a wonderful teacher. I think very quickly people's impressions have changed.
Q: What does a pope mean to people these days? What is a pope in today's society?
A: The pope is the embodiment of Peter, of that office, of that ministry, and in a way it's our connection with Christ. Christ has chosen his apostles, on which to found the church, and he chose Peter to be the person who would promote the unity and the faith. He said, 'Thou art Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church.' So, for us, the connection with the Holy Father is important because it's a connection with Christ. Christ planned for the church, for his people, his desire to leave someone here who would be a symbol and a sign of his love for us, his pastoral care, his presence, and a person who would call us to unity and help us to be faithful to the call to discipleship.
Q: What are you most looking forward to about next week?
A: I think the liturgical celebrations. The Holy Father - being able to pray with him, and to see those thousands and thousands of Catholics there as a part of that prayer.
Q: Can you remember the first time you saw a pope, and what that meant to you personally?
A: The first time I saw a pope, yes, as a matter of fact it was when I was a seminarian, I went to Rome. I was about 18, 17 or 18 years old, and the pope was Pope Paul VI. It was a huge audience, at least in my way of thinking. In those days it was inside the basilica of St. Peter, it was very beautiful, and I remember, at the time the Mass was still in Latin, and the Holy Father intoned the creed, in Latin, and the whole congregation, there were people from all over the world, responded and sang the entire creed. It was a very moving experience.
