NOTE: Enjoy this excerpt from The American Daily Reader, by CatholicVote president Brian Burch and Emily Stimpson Chapman. To order the complete volume, visit the CatholicVote store today!
It was an extraordinary move, something that would have shocked and scandalized earlier generations of Americans. Yet, to those awaiting Pope Benedict XVI’s arrival at Andrews Air Force Base on April 15, 2008, President George W. Bush’s presence on the tarmac seemed entirely appropriate.
True, it broke with precedent. As a rule, U.S. presidents don’t leave the White House to greet arriving foreign dignitaries; they wait at the White House for dignitaries to come to them. But for Bush, precedent mattered less than showing his respect for the pontiff. He showed that respect by his presence on the tarmac.
He also showed it through his remarks the following day, saying:
Holy Father, you will find in America people whose hearts are open to your message of hope. And America and the world need this message. In a world where some invoke the name of God to justify acts of terror and murder and hate, we need your message that “God is love.” And embracing this love is the surest way to save men from “falling prey to the teaching of fanaticism and terrorism.”
In a world where some treat life as something to be debased and discarded, we need your message that all human life is sacred, and that “each of us is willed, each of us is loved, and each of us is necessary.”
In a world where some no longer believe that we can distinguish between simple right and wrong, we need your message to reject this “dictatorship of relativism,” and embrace a culture of justice and truth.
In a world where some see freedom as simply the right to do as they wish, we need your message that true liberty requires us to live our freedom not just for ourselves, but “in a spirit of mutual support.”
Holy Father, thank you for making this journey to America. Our nation welcomes you. We appreciate the example you set for the world, and we ask that you always keep us in your prayers.”
