NEW YORK -- Pope Benedict XVI began the final day of his American journey by blessing the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and pleading with God to bring "peace to our violent world."
The visit by Benedict to ground zero was a poignant moment in a trip marked by unexpectedly festive crowds anxious to see the former academic who for three years has led the world's Roman Catholics.
Benedict was driven in the popemobile part-way down a ramp now used mostly by construction trucks to a spot by the north tower's footprint. He walked the final steps, knelt in silent prayer for a few moments, then rose to light a memorial candle.
Addressing a group that included survivors, clergy and public officials, he acknowledged the many faiths of the victims at the "scene of incredible violence and pain."
The pope also prayed for "those who suffered death, injury and loss" in the attacks at the Pentagon and in the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa. More than 2,900 people were killed in the four crashes of the airliners hijacked by al-Qaida.
"God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world," the pope prayed on a chilly, overcast morning. "Turn to your way of love those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred."
Benedict invited 24 people with ties to ground zero to join him: survivors, relatives of victims and four rescue workers. He greeted each member of the group individually as a string quartet played in the background. In his prayer, he also remembered those who, "because of their presence here that day, suffer from injuries and illness."
New York deputy fire chief James Riches, father of a fallen Sept. 11 firefighter, said the pope's visit was important and gave him "a little consolation."
Hundreds of people stood just outside the site, behind police barricades, hoping for a glimpse of the pope.
The site where the World Trade Center was destroyed is normally filled with hundreds of workers building a 102-story skyscraper, a memorial and transit hub. It bears little resemblance to the debris-filled pit where crews toiled to remove twisted steel and victims' remains.
The remains of more than 1,100 people have never been identified.
Ground Zero is a cemetery. Over 1000 people who were killed by the terrorists at the World Trade Center are buried there. People say it all the time, but it really is hallowed ground.
Diane Horning, who lost her son Matthew at the WTC on 9/11, was interviewed as part of the WCBS coverage of the Pope's visit to Ground Zero.
She made an interesting point:
One of the things that I'd like to point out that's so significant for me and for many people regardless of their religious faith is that most of the ceremonies that take place on this soil are secular, completely secular.
The anniversary events have never had any spiritual component. They have deliberately left that out. We don't say a prayer. We don't...we have no separate moments of silence where we can pray on our own. There's nothing like that. And so to me, the biggest significance is that there are secular, the secular powers that be are permitting a spiritual event to happen there, and that is a huge movement, the first time.
When Horning was asked what she felt as she watched the Pope descend down the ramp to the pit, she said:
I can remember walking that walk. I remember walking down this ramp to go down to Ground Zero for anniversaries and he is traveling the route I traveled. It's very moving to me, moving.
To me, that's incredibly moving.
As the Pope shares the path that the grieving 9/11 families have taken, it makes me think of how we all share in the suffering of Jesus as we walk those painful paths in our lives.
Rather than focus on the spirituality of the Pope's presence at Ground Zero, this Associated Press article pushes its typical anti-Bush agenda, and, to a certain extent, anti-Catholic stance.
The visit by Benedict to ground zero was a poignant moment in a trip marked by unexpectedly festive crowds anxious to see the former academic who for three years has led the world's Roman Catholics.
What is that?
"Unexpectedly festive crowds"?
I think that shows just how clueless the media can be. They underestimate Pope Benedict XVI and how dear he is to Catholics and non-Catholics.
When the faithful have an opportunity to be in the presence of the Holy Father, of course there's great excitement, and in the case of the Pope's visit to Ground Zero, great reverence and solemnity.
...Benedict has addressed terrorism several times during his six-day visit.
In a private meeting with President Bush, the two leaders "touched on the need to confront terrorism with appropriate means that respect the human person and his or her rights," according to a joint U.S.-Holy See statement.
Benedict has been critical of harsh interrogation methods, telling a meeting of the Vatican's office for social justice last September that, while a country has an obligation to keep its citizens safe, prisoners must never be demeaned or tortured.
Addressing the United Nations on Friday, Benedict warned diplomats that international cooperation needed to solve urgent problems is "in crisis" because decisions rest in the hands of a few powerful nations.
The pope also insisted that the way to peace was by ensuring respect for human dignity.
"The promotion of human rights remains the most effective strategy for eliminating inequalities between countries and social groups, and increasing security," the pope said.
Those whose rights are trampled, he said, "become easy prey to the call to violence and they then become violators of peace."
Obviously, this AP account means to condemn President Bush and the administration.
In a report on the Pope's visit to Ground Zero, the AP talks about "harsh interrogation methods" of terrorists rather than the horror and enormity of what the terrorists did on September 11, 2001.
It's as if the media don't get the spiritual nature of the Pope's visit. They don't understand how his apostolic journey has touched hearts.
Personally, I found it very moving to see the Pope stand on the ground where thousands died, where the remains of over 1000 people were never identified, and to bless Ground Zero, the site of so much sorrow and suffering.
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Transcript of the Pope's prayer at Ground Zero
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