Though they may be thousands of miles away, Catholics around the United States and ASU have had their focus on Washington, D.C. and New York City this past week, looking for guidance from the leader of their faith.
Pope Benedict XVI, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, arrived for his first papal visit to the U.S. last Tuesday and visited President George Bush.
Many of the more than 12,000 Catholics at ASU are hoping this visit will be the first of several for the new pontiff.
Lourdes Alonso, the campus minister for the All Saints Catholic Newman Center, said that Benedict's visit is exciting.
"I hope he comes often," Alonso said. "I noticed that there's a sense of excitement and a sense of peace -— even the media is very excited."
Alonso said Benedict is continuing to reach out like his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.
"[Benedict has] the same message of love, compassion and justice for the poor -— he's challenging us as Catholics and Christians to look out for each other," said Alonso, adding that she hopes the pontiff is speaking to the president about the situation in Iraq, which she referred to as "an unjust war."
"I'm sure he's saying some stuff to George Bush about the war," she said. "[Catholics] are against the war."
Though Alonso was not able to see Benedict on this visit, she saw John Paul II in 2002 at World Youth Day and said the experience was wonderful.
"When I saw him, I felt a sense of excitement and his love was just surrounding him," said Alonso, who added that John Paul's good works have given him "an aura" of love.
"[He has] allowed love to really flow from him."
Shannon O'Connor is one of the 1,800 registered undergraduate Catholics at the Newman Center. The journalism and mass communications sophomore said John Paul, who she calls "JP II," was her hero.
"It was my goal to go to Rome to meet him," she said. "So many youth are involved in parishes today because of JP II."
She added that, because John Paul reached out, the Catholic faith is that "something [youth] can claim as our own."
O'Connor said she would have liked to go see Benedict in Washington, D.C., but she is following his trip via television instead.
"Benedict isn't as charismatic [as John Paul]," said O'Connor, who added that Benedict's messages are still very powerful. "It takes a while to get to know what this pope is going to be like."
Claire Bachman, a freshman, said the pontiff's acknowledgement of the sex-abuse scandals was important to the Catholic community. Benedict's visit is the first time a pope has visited the U.S. since the controversies swept the country.
"[The scandal] definitely was disheartening," she said. "It's very good that he's addressing the issue while he's here."
Bachman, who is majoring in Italian, said she would like to travel to Italy both for her studies and to visit Vatican City with other pilgrims.
"I've heard stories about how powerful it is to be among people united for the same reason to pray together," she said. "He's a very strong figure. For most people, just his presence is inspiring."
Reach the reporter at: indra.ekmanis@asu.edu.
