You know by having a healthy dose of pessimism, you protect yourself from being disappointed. And I have to tell you, that I was not expecting much to result from Pope Benedict’s visit to our country. I felt that the Pope would visit this divided nation and not address the sweeping tide of religious intolerance in America. I expressed my hope that he would do this during his visit on this site yesterday. Well my friends I was wrong because he did that a yesterday and more in a very understated way

In an evening meeting with leaders from various faith traditions at The Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, DC, the Pope said, “Protecting religious freedom within the rule of law does not guarantee that peoples — particularly minorities — will be spared from unjust forms of discrimination and prejudice. This requires constant effort on the part of all members of society to ensure that citizens are afforded the opportunity to worship peaceably and to pass on their religious heritage to their children." He also said, “In their attempt to discover commonalities, religious leaders have shied away from the responsibility to discuss our differences with calmness and clarity."

I like what this scholarly and understated man did during his visit to Washington. Yes he has made some mistakes and made some controversial statements. But, he basically said what this divided nation needed to hear, which is what I have said in so many past columns on this site, and that is, “we have to build upon our common values and use them as a cornerstone for peace.” Thank you Holy Father!


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Rev. Jay Speights has an MA in public policy and is an interfaith minister and the main U.N. representative for The New Seminary in New York. You can learn more about his work at The New Seminary website or at http://jayspeights.blogspot.com/ . His email address is {email jayspeights@newseminary.org}jayspeights@newseminary.org{/email}. © Copyright 2008 by Jay Speights.