By REY FLORES
According to the website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Pope Francis will be the fourth Pope to come the United States. His visit to our nation is scheduled to take place September 22-27, 2015, when he will make stops in Washington, D.C., New York, and Philadelphia. This trip will be the tenth time a Pope has made an apostolic journey to the United States.
The last time a Pope visited our country was in April of 2008 when Pope Benedict XVI came to Washington, D.C., and New York. Before that, St. Pope John Paul the Great visited us seven times and traveled to about 20 American cities. Before that, the first time a Pope visited the United States was in October of 1965 when Pope Paul VI came to New York City.
I have some terrific memories of a papal visit when Pope John Paul II came to Chicago in 1979.
According to The Chicago Tribune, there were 2.4 million Catholics in the city, making the Chicago Archdiocese the largest in the country at the time. Add to that the fact that Pope John Paul II was the first Polish Pontiff in history and Chicago had the largest Polish population outside of Poland, and it was a complete madhouse!
I remember the nuns at St. Hedwig School, my grade school, lining us up on the side of the Kennedy Expressway about a half block from the school, waiting for the Pope’s motorcade to drive by, coming from O’Hare Airport. We were all holding welcome signs we had made earlier in the day.
Since it was October, the sun had already set and it was already dark outside. I recall seeing John Paul’s smiling face and his white cassock and zucchetto illuminated by a dome light in the limousine he was riding in. He looked blue because of the window tint. It was almost in slow motion, but I recall feeling great joy in my then 12-year-old heart.
Later that evening the local television news showed the throngs of people outside of John Cardinal Cody’s mansion, where the Pope was humorously ordering the crowds to leave and “Go sleep!”
It is estimated that over 200,000 people attended the open air Mass at Chicago’s Grant Park during John Paul’s two-day visit to the city. It was a magical time indeed.
Now members of a new generation will hopefully have the opportunity to make their own memories when Pope Francis visits us next month. Albeit that John Paul II and Francis are two very different Popes, we must always remember that Francis is our Holy Father.
During most papal visits to our country there are always the obligatory visits to the White House and the United Nations where Catholicism isn’t exactly on either institution’s priority list. While papal visits are a cause for celebration and joy, this coming visit by Pope Francis must also be one of unyielding resolve.
Francis is our Holy Father and he must do what fathers do when his children are in peril; he must defend us and our right to worship as Catholics without fear of retribution from the American government or the New World Order bullies at the United Nations.
Despite his recent “kumbaya” moments with the UN and its militant environmentalism, Pope Francis must remain steadfast as the head of the Catholic Church here on Earth and remind Obama and the UN that they must not force their abortion, contraception, eugenics, and population control agendas on us.
He must come prepared to stand up for us Catholics in America defending us against any social engineering agendas which may compromise our faith, our beliefs, and most important, our eternal souls. He is our shepherd and he must protect his sheep from wolves like the Obama administration and the United Nations.
Perhaps you can write a letter as a parish and either send it directly to the Vatican, or if your pastor and local bishop are supportive, get their help to get it to Pope Francis. Let the Pope know that we really need him to speak up for us as our leader. For those of you who are on Twitter, you can tweet Pope Francis directly at @Pontifex.
The increasing threats against Christianity, particularly against Catholicism, are not some made-up bogeyman.
American courts are fining and threatening Christian business owners for practicing their faith beliefs. The American government is forcing religious institutions to participate in abortion and contraception through Obamacare mandates.
Almost every other week we hear about some atheist group demanding that any semblance of the Ten Commandments be removed from public places and, worse yet, replace them with monuments to Satan himself.
The military has been booting Christian chaplains out and disciplining military personnel if they openly display their Christianity. Instead, it allows everything from homosexuals and transgenderism to pagans and Wiccans.
Simply put, we Catholics are under attack in America. Pope Francis must address this in no uncertain terms. This is what makes Pope Francis’ visit next month that much more important.
If he doesn’t address what I just mentioned in this column, then why is he visiting us at all?
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(Rey Flores is a Catholic writer and speaker. Contact Rey at reyfloresusa@gmail.com.)
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