The arrival this week of the head of the Roman Catholic Church to America has seen a surprising turnout from Catholics and other Americans wishing to be a part of an historic visit from Pope Benedict XVI. President Bush’s welcome ceremony for the pontiff was a bellwether for the response that Benedict has received from Americans so far during his visit.

The President and the first lady made the unusual move of greeting the Pope at Andrews Air Force Base themselves, taking Benedict to the White House for only the second time in papal history for a powerful ceremony the next day. Nine thousand people, the largest audience ever at the White House, gathered on the South Lawn to hear the U.S. Army Chorus in a moving rendition of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” to pray with soprano Kathleen Battle as she sang the Lord’s Prayer and to listen to speeches by both President Bush and Pope Benedict.

In addition, many large, outdoor Masses have been organized, the first taking place Thursday at National Stadium in Washington. According to the AP, over 46,000 people were expected at the Mass. Additional religious services for Benedict to preside over on his trip have been planned at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Yankee Stadium, both in New York City, where turnout is also expected to be high.

The most interesting aspect of the pope’s visit are not the issues he and the president discussed; We all understand they agree on issues like abortion and embryonic stem cell research and disagree about the death penalty and the war. Rather, it is both the pope’s professed view of America and, likewise, the receptiveness of Americans, Catholic and otherwise, toward the pope and the church.

In his address at the White House, Benedict made it clear he believed “Americans have always been a people of hope.” Indeed, he stressed in his speech a very different view of America than that of which is usually attributed to people and nations around the world by the far left in this country. Benedict repeatedly expressed a faith in America to have hope in themselves because of a strong tradition of hope in God and Jesus Christ.

The 81-year-old pope ended this address with a resolute yet simple statement: “God bless America.” This is almost a cliche in this country, with certain people even deeming it archaic or politically incorrect. Coming from a foreign pope, a leader of the largest church in the world, it may even mean a lot more to us than when Americans say it to each other. That the successor of St. Peter finds the U.S. exceptional in its founding values speaks volumes to the true perception of the U.S. most certainly must be a beacon of hope for the world and its people.
Equally uplifting is how Americans have received Benedict. The crowds are enormous, filled with people eager to see the pope. The fact that so many Americans have expressed such heightened interest in this papal visit indicates that the country may not be lost to secular progressivism quite yet.

Of course, we hear much in the way of downplaying the role of religion in American society. It is a signature argument from some self-styled “progressives” that religion dumbs us down, hinders us from realizing scientific and philosophical truths and makes us all hypocrites. This is perhaps true for some Americans, though religion itself is no more a culprit than television, food, health consciousness or a career in controlling a person’s life in a negative way. It is a human problem that we allow ourselves to be held back intellectually, and we will do so by any means possible, including religion.

Yet faith in God offers much more to Americans than the immediate pleasures and benefits of those other examples. Faith provides a moral guide, not just for individuals, but also for a nation building itself upon the highest of standards and the noblest of virtues. When Barack Obama takes a cheap shot at the “bitter” religious people of Pennsylvania, he actually, though probably unwittingly, attacks the very foundations of this country by trivializing religion as an escape from meaningless (in the grander scheme of things) economic woes.

Faith, particularly Christian faith, saves people in a way that Obama and other big-government liberals would love to do so themselves. Is it any wonder that the progressive movement began with a temperance movement rooted in Christian churches? The problem is that such ideology seeks to redirect the faith-oriented inclinations of people toward government, almost like a replacement for God. God, however, is infallible and good, while government is really just comprised of more people.

What Benedict recognized at the White House is that our government allows people to be free and to have hope in themselves. The response to his visit shows that people yearn for a real faith. These large Masses may look a little like Obama rallies, but rather than worshipping a simple, the crowds coming to see the pope seek to worship and understand God.
It has been reported that after the speech on the White House lawn, as he shook the pope’s hand, President Bush told Benedict that his words were “awesome.” Awesome indeed. Here’s to hoping that Americans, through the guidance of this papal visit, realize again how important faith in God is to maintaining a free and righteous country.