Papal Headaches

Most of my upcoming posts will focus on the upcoming visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the U.S. His visit is a big deal. Most media don't know how to handle a papal visit. My guess is they will spend most of their news resources covering the upcoming Democratic primaries that will likely result in a clear winner of the Democratic nomination.

A papal Mass, particularly one at a baseball stadium (see image below of what Yankee Stadium will look like during the Mass), requires a huge amoung of preparation and coordination. One of the obstacles is figuring out a way to distribute Communion to about 70,000 people in 10 minutes or less. Hundreds of priest have been recruited to distribute Communion at the "ballpark" Masses in New York and Washington, D.C. Since this is America, several entities have expressed concern that priests, and not laypeople, will be distributing Communion. They argue that this shows that the Pope wants to maintain the "good ole boy" priesthood and that His Holiness refuses to recognize the "priethood of all believers".

Perhaps having priests distribute Communion is a show of support to the priests of the U.S. It has been a rough decade for them. Priests have had to work harder and longer due to the decreasing number of priests. The sexual assault scandals have caused a significant decrease in morale among priests. I applaud the Mass planners for doing this.