Wall Street Journal
By Tamara Audi
September 27, 2015
At
virtually every stop of Pope Francis’ three-city tour of the U.S. this
week, he has been greeted with cries of “Viva el papa!”
The
first Latin American pope electrified Hispanic communities, who have
turned out in great numbers to see him during his visits to Washington,
New York and Philadelphia.
“He
is Hispanic. He is our pope,” said Monica Cruz, 44 years old, who
emigrated from Ecuador over 20 years ago. “We really feel something
special about him.”
She
brought her 8-year-old daughter, Camilla, to see him in New York
because they are believers, but also, because of what Pope Francis has
done for immigrants. “He is
my idol,” Camilla said.
Many Hispanic Catholics say the Argentinean pope speaks to them directly—spiritually, politically and literally.
Many
of his speeches here are in his native Spanish. His most
extemporaneous, impassioned speech so far was at Saturday’s music
festival in Philadelphia, where he scrapped
the script and talked about the importance of families.
He
threw in a few jokes about children and mothers-in-law, separating the
non-Spanish-speakers from the Spanish-speakers who laughed first while
the rest waited for translation.
Immigration
has been a running theme in many of his speeches, where he often
invoked the nation’s history as a land of immigrants. “We, the people of
this continent, are
not fearful of foreigners because most of us were once foreigners,” he
told Congress last week.
He
presided over the canonization of 18th century Spanish friar Junípero
Serra at a mass last week in Washington—a move much more about the
church’s future than its past.
In canonizing Serra, considered the father of the California missions,
the pope was recalling the deep roots Hispanics and Catholicism have in
the U.S.
At
Independence Hall in Philadelphia, the pope urged Hispanics and
immigrants not to be ashamed of their heritage as they find their place
in a new culture. “Do not forget
the lessons you learned from your elders, which are something you can
bring to enrich the life of this American land,” he said.
About 40% of U.S. Catholics are Hispanic, though the church, like other religions, is struggling to keep ahold of its young.
The pope’s visit may help energize young Catholics.
Brandon
Cabaleiro, a 17-year-old from White Plains, N.Y., was among a group of
Catholic high-school students chosen to represent their school to meet
the pope Friday in
Harlem. He prays every night but doesn’t attend church very often. That
might change after he shook hands with the pope.
“That will encourage me to go back to church more often,” said Mr. Cabaleiro, whose parents are Peruvian, Colombian and Spanish.
Bronx
native Mandy Rivera supports the pope’s positions on sensitive topics
such as his decision to allow priests to grant forgiveness for abortion
and his softer approach
to the question of allowing divorced Catholics to receive communion.
“I feel personally that he has opened up a lot of doors for us,” Ms. Rivera said.
Like non-Hispanics, many say they like the pope’s emphasis on forgiveness and love.
“He’s
calling out to all us sinners and telling us, hey, come back, this is
where you’re going to be loved, and I love that,” said Noe Vielma, a
30-year-old Dallas native
with shoulder-length hair who traveled to Philadelphia to see the pope.
He finds Pope Francis’ statements easier to understand than those of
his predecessors.
“It’s
easy for people to live what he’s saying, rather than have a theologian
explain it and using big words and things they may not be familiar
with,” said Mr. Vielma,
who was born in Texas to parents who immigrated from Mexico City.
Anna
Guaracao, 16, performed onstage Saturday night in Philadelphia at the
festival of music and religion headlined by the pope. Ms. Guaracao’s
family “are extreme Catholics”
from Colombia, although she’s a Presbyterian. “They are so excited
about him, and so proud. So am I.”
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