325 Blog 6

This past week our group had the privilege to be a part of a papal audience. We sat in the front row on the left side of the Pope. We were about twenty yards away from him during the ceremony, and at the end he passed right in front of us. Walsh University was announced as one of the special guests from the English speaking countries, and the Pope waved to us when we stood and cheered.
In class, we discussed how the papacy is both Roman and universal. Each year when the Pope begins his Christmas and Easter addresses, he says, “To Rome, and to the World.” So how is it possible that the papacy is both Italian and universal? We discussed in class the idea that the American culture often limits us to an “either/or” philosophy, while Italians are more easily able to see when something has qualities of “both” sides.
Throughout the papal audience it was easy to see how the Pope, his address, and the Vatican itself maintain the traditional Italian atmosphere, while also producing a feeling that the church is addressing the entire world. Both sides are very visible in many aspects. For example, the Swiss Guard walks out before the Pope arrives. Four guards come out of the doors of St. Peter’s Basilica. They then split into two pairs, one to guard each side of the Pope’s seat. However, it feels that this traditional act is more ceremonial than functional. This is because despite these four guards, carrying only swords and lances as weapons, there are also about forty Vatican guards in suits standing around the stage. It is pretty apparent that these “secret service” guards are responsible for the real protection of the Pope in modern times.
There is also the fact that although a majority of the papal audience was in the Italian language, they also addressed the audience in about eight other languages. The Pope himself spoke each of these languages, saying roughly the same thing in each. There is also the fact that the Pope himself is German. Although the papacy is an Italian position, the position obviously requires a great deal of universal knowledge.
I also found the opening reading from the Bible to be very relevant to our class discussion. As everyone knows, the Pope has recently been receiving scrutiny due to sexual scandals in the Catholic Church. This scandal does not seem to be very important to the Italians. They do not seem worried about it, perhaps because the Pope is granted, through Catholic law, infallibility. Also, because the papacy is Italian, the Italian people seem anxious to cover up the scandal as if it will reflect upon their country. Regardless of how the Italians react to the scandals, the Vatican Press Office realizes that at a universal level, these issues need to be dealt with. The opening reading at the papal audience was taken from the Book of Isaiah, and although I cannot remember the exact words, it said something along these lines: ‘I shall not turn my back from the whips, pull my fingers away from those who bite at them, nor hide my face from the shame.’ This was incredibly powerful considering the current situation. I found it very interesting that the Pope has not only directly addressed the situation, but has also used Bible readings to indirectly address the situation through the Word of God.
The papal audience was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will never forget. And despite my American dispositions, I am now able to see how the papacy is both Roman and universal.