Benedict XVI's Address at JFK Departure Ceremony (God Bless America!)

EWTN ^ | April 20, 2008

[NYer]

God Bless America!

[NYer]

My visit this morning to Ground Zero will remain firmly etched in my memory, as I continue to pray for those who died and for all who suffer in consequence of the tragedy that occurred there in 2001.

---

[NYer]

Pope Benedict XVI acknowledges those in attendance for Mass at Yankee Stadium in New York, April 20, 2008. REUTERS/Kevin Coughlin/Pool (UNITED STATES)

Bishop Gregory Mansour (R) kisses the ring of Pope Benedict XVI as he arrives at JFK International Airport in New York, April 18, 2008 . REUTERS/Keith Bedford (UNITED STATES)

That's my bishop!!

Catholic Ping
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[Landry Fan]

Thank you for posting.

[al_c]

That was a wonderful ending to a properous trip to the States. Very inspiring.

Do you also have the text to Cheney's talk?

[kromike]

The “Reverend” Wright was unavailable for comment. He was too busy hating America....

[Rio]

John F. Kennedy International Airport
New York, New York

8:08 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Your Holiness, President and Senator Clinton, Your Eminences Cardinal Bertoni and Cardinal Egan, Your Excellency Bishop DiMarzio, clergy and religious, distinguished guests, and ladies and gentlemen, good evening. It’s a privilege to join all of you as our esteemed visitor, the Holy Father, concludes his visit to the United States. It has been a memorable week, and Pope Benedict XVI has stepped into the history of our country in a very special way.

Some 60 million Americans belong to his fold, and all of America respects this messenger of peace and justice and freedom. (Applause.) From the nation’s capital to this great city of New York, our citizens have received the Pope with reverence and with affection, with songs of joy and with prayers of thanksgiving.

Your Holiness, on your first apostolic visit to the United States, you’ve encountered a nation facing many challenges, but with more blessings than any of us could number. (Applause.) You have met a people of resonating faith who affirm that our nation was founded under God, who seek His purposes and bow to His will. (Applause.) You have seen a country where the torch of freedom, equality and tolerance will always be held high; a country where you, a herald of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, will always be welcome. (Applause.)

To our diverse country, you have brought a universal message of hope and salvation. You have spoken to Americans with eloquence and feeling, and for so many, these have been days of reflection and personal renewal. Whether in your presence or listening across great distances, millions have found in your words hope against despair, certainty amid confusion, and strength for journeys of their own.

Your Holiness, here in New York you have addressed the representatives of many nations, and celebrated the Eucharist before many thousands. And you have moved us, in particular, by your visit to Ground Zero. (Applause.) There, you prayed for eternal light and peace upon the innocent victims of September 11th, 2001, and you asked that the rest of us may live so that all who died on that morning may not have been lost in vain. That is our daily meditation as well, and it remains our daily prayer.

Your Holiness, nearly 57 years have passed since the day of your ordination as a priest in June 1951. You might have found it hard to imagine then that you would stand before all humanity as a teacher, a statesman, and the shepherd of more than a billion souls. That is what God has called you to do. (Applause.)

In these 57 years, your wisdom and your pastoral gifts have been extraordinary blessings to our world. In these six days, you’ve shared those blessings very directly for the people of the United States. Your presence has honored our country. Although you must leave us now, your words and the memory of this week will stay with us. For that, we are truly and humbly grateful. (Applause.)

And so with the greatest warmth and respect, we thank you, we bid you a safe return to Rome, and until we meet again we ask Your Holiness to remember in your prayers the United States of America. (Applause.)

END 8:13 P.M. EDT

[Miss Didi]

HUMBLED:Lt. John McLoughlin, who miraculously survived on 9/11, receives the blessings of Pope Benedict XVI yesterday at Ground Zero...,


where he and others got a cross made of WTC steel.

PAPAL BLESSING LEAVES 9/11 HERO SPEECHLESS

[TNCMAXQ]

What a contrast. This holy man, full of love and optimism, blesses America. He was reared under an evil totalitarian regime yet manages to see good. Meanwhile certain American
“reverends,” who live in mansions, screech that America is evil. They should take some lessons from the Holy Father.

[TNCMAXQ]

I hear that Speaker Pelosi kissed his ring too. I wish he had told her off. Hard to believe you can be a cheerleader for abortion under any circumstance and still consider yourself a good Catholic.

[levotb]

This is one American who did NOT welcome the meddling Pope’s visit to America. The moment he got here, he was slamming the U.S. before the Socialist U.N.—yet our idiot leaders (and that goes for them all)—licked his boots for a photo op with His Eminence.

What was lost on almost all American leaders—but not lost on Lou Dobbs and me—was the Pope’s lecturing Americans on NOT enforcing their Federal Immigration laws. You see, the Pope like so many other Open Borders religious leaders wants Amnesty to reign in America. His promises to do something about the American pedophile preists is reassuring to some. His lecturing America on not enforcing its Immigration laws is not. The pontiff won’t admit it, but the drop in American citizen worshipers is in part due to the pedophile scandals and in part due to the Church’s position on sanctuaries for illegals.

Fortunately

[goodnesswins]

Okay....I’m NOT Catholic.....why Kiss the RING?

[EyeGuy]

“I hear that Speaker Pelosi kissed his ring too”

And “conservative” columnist Peggy Noonan on EWTN, literally gushed over the appearance of Her Botoxness.

Very puzzling and disturbing.

[Miss Didi]

Catholics are to kneel and kiss the ring when greeting bishops, cardinals and the Pope. We do it as a sign of respect.

[al_c]

Excellent! Thank you. I watched this on EWTN but my wife missed it so this will help.

[al_c]

And “conservative” columnist Peggy Noonan on EWTN, literally gushed over the appearance of Her Botoxness

I was getting really tired of her comments. I bet Arroyo was biting his tongue holding back his comments to avoid debate and keep the focus on the pope's visit.

[Miss Didi]

[goodnesswins]

Thank you....another question....what IS the ring, or what does it signify? (I could make assumptions....but, would rather here it from someone who knows.)

[Miss Didi]

Pope Benedict XVI's Ring

The Ring of the Fisherman, also known as the Piscatory Ring and the Pescatorio (in Italian), is an official part of the regalia worn by the Pope, who is described by the Catholic Church (of which he is the head) as the successor of Saint Peter, who was a fisherman by trade. It features a bas-relief of Peter fishing from a boat, a symbolism derived from the tradition that the apostles were "fishers of men" (Mark 1:17). The Fisherman's Ring is a signet used until 1842 to seal official documents signed by the Pope.

A new ring is cast in gold for each Pope. Around the relief image is the reigning Pope's Latin name in raised lettering. During the ceremony of a Papal Coronation or Papal Inauguration, the Dean of the College of Cardinals slips the ring on the fourth finger of the new Pope's right hand. Upon a papal death, the ring is ceremonially crushed in the presence of other cardinals by the Camerlengo, in order to prevent the sealing of backdated, forged documents during the interregnum, or sede vacante.

A letter written by Pope Clement IV to his nephew Peter Grossi in 1265 includes the earliest known mention of the Ring of the Fisherman, used for sealing all private correspondence by pressing the ring into red sealing wax melted onto a folded piece of paper or envelope. Public documents, by contrast, were sealed by pressing the papal seal into lead melted on the document. Such documents were historically called papal bulls, named after the stamped bulla of lead. Use of the Fisherman's Ring changed during the 15th century when it was used to seal official documents called papal briefs. That practice ended in 1842, when the wax with its guard of silk and the impression of the ring was replaced by a stamp which affixed the same device in red ink.

Through the centuries, the Fisherman's Ring did not become known for its practical use but by its feudal symbolism. Borrowing from the traditions developed by medieval monarchs, followers showed respect to the reigning Pope by kneeling at his feet and kissing the Fisherman's Ring. The tradition continues to this day.

[massgopguy]

It is the Ring of the Fisherman. A depiction of Peter in the boat. Early references go back to circa 1200. The ring is destroyed upon the Poep’s death.