2008-04-18T12:27:52Z tag:blog.washingtonpost.com,2008:/pope-watch//379 Copyright (c) 2008, WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive 2008-04-18T12:27:52Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-17:/pope-watch/2008/04/the_popes_meeting_with_sexabus.html

I spoke with Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley about the pope's meeting with a small group of sex-abuse victims at the Vatican Embassy Thursday afternoon. He seemed very affected by it and said that he wasn't ready to talk about it except to say that it was prayerful and, he hoped, healing. It must have been quite a meeting. The shy academic, as the pope has been described, and five people who went through hell at...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Jacqueline L. Salmon 2008-04-17T22:17:33Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-17:/pope-watch/2008/04/three_taken_to_hospitals_durin.html

District rescue workers responded to 37 calls for service this morning for the pope's mass, said Alan Etter, spokesman for the D.C. Fire and Emergncy Medical Services department. The majority of the people were treated on the scene for problems like scrapes after falling down, he said. However, three people were transported to area hospitals, including one woman from the field of the stadium who dehydrated. Two other people who were at the Metro station...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

David Marino-Nachison 2008-04-17T19:53:30Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-17:/pope-watch/2008/04/angling_for_a_glimpse.html

George Logusch, a 23-year old of graduate of Catholic University, came to the Law School lawn at the college at 8 a.m. today and secured a front row position to see Pope Benedict when he arrives for his 5 p.m. meeting with Catholic educators. Logusch graduated in May with a degree in architecture and wants to get a job designing churches to help "bring out the faith in a physical way." Hundreds of students and...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

David Marino-Nachison 2008-04-17T16:44:57Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-17:/pope-watch/2008/04/the_pinnacle_of_my_catholic_fa.html

Those who attended the Pope's mass at Nationals Stadium are heading home. Scott Fartini, a 33-year-old seminarian from Roanoke, said taking part in the papal mass was more than special. It's been a difficult few years, he said, with the beating the church has taken over the sex abuse scandal involving priests. The enthusiam surrouding the visit, however, provided an energy boost -- so much so he walked from the stadium to Union Station. "It...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

David Marino-Nachison 2008-04-17T14:50:55Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-17:/pope-watch/2008/04/addressing_sexual_abuse_again.html

From reporter Jacqueline Salmon: For the third day in a row, the pope brought up the sexual-abuse crisis. This is a surprise. It had been expected that he would bring it up in his speech with the bishops yesterday, but he also discussed it on the flight over and he gave over a chunk of his Mass homily today to it. Here's what he said:...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

washingtonpost.com editors 2008-04-17T12:58:01Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-17:/pope-watch/2008/04/the_popes_traffic.html

Taking a look at today's situation on the Metro and the area's roads, Dr. Gridlock has posted an update on this morning's traffic situation on his Get There blog. So far, it seems, things are under control despite the unusual morning volume and reroutings caused by the papal mass....Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

David Marino-Nachison 2008-04-17T13:24:17Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-17:/pope-watch/2008/04/i_will_be_very_close_to_the_po.html

The Metro system was swollen with people coming to the mass long before sunrise. Mark and Gayle Wozar and their sons, Michael and Andrew, rode in on the Green Line from College Park. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime event for my family," said Mark Wozar, a lifelong Catholic, who planned to be in the audience Saulo Vicente, a 25-year old seminarian in the Archdiocese of Washington, would have a larger role. A native of Brazil, Vicente...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

David Marino-Nachison 2008-04-17T12:51:26Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-17:/pope-watch/2008/04/crowd_pouring_toward_ballpark.html

By 8 a.m this morning, thousands of people were already pouring out of charter buses and the Navy Yard Metro station, heading toward Nationals Park. The scene was an unusaul mix of ballgame and pilgrimage: hawkers sold Papal flags, Pope buttons, Pope T-shirts and a seat cushion with praying hands on it, the "saviour seat." Carol King, 61, of Kensington said she won tickets for her and her husband through a lottery at the Holy...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

David Marino-Nachison 2008-04-17T12:35:20Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-17:/pope-watch/2008/04/voices_from_the_street.html

Voices from the street as the pope made his way through the day yesterday: "This kind of chance only comes once in a lifetime. Even if it's just five seconds, if you saw him, you saw him. You were in his sight. You were right there with him. And no one can ever take that away from you." -- Carlos Rivas, 18, who drove to D.C. with 115 others from New Jersey. "The Pope for...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

David Marino-Nachison 2008-04-17T10:31:30Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-17:/pope-watch/2008/04/god_and_nationals_park.html

From reporter Jacqui L. Salmon I'm here at Nationals Park at 4:30 a.m. Quite a site. 300 red-jacketed ushers swarming the place. The stage and the field are in gold and white. 5,000 white seats are lined up, but the diamond has been cordoned off with white fencing and some kind of artificial bushes. The forecast is sunny and 70s. I wonder how many Novenas Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, had to perform to...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

David Marino-Nachison 2008-04-17T00:35:50Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-16:/pope-watch/2008/04/pontiff_crazy_at_cua.html

From reporter Susan Kinzie: No class today at Catholic University: All the more time to blog about the Pope. "The Pope at CUA," launched by staff at the student newspaper the Tower, has carried round-the-clock updates about the historic visit to the U.S. and the way their campus is going pontiff crazy. Chase McAlpine, a junior who thought of the blog and stayed up all that night getting it going, said they're hoping to catch...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

washingtonpost.com editors 2008-04-16T18:54:06Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-16:/pope-watch/2008/04/a_bit_of_a_miracle.html

From reporter William Wan: "When you go on a pilgrimage, you don't know what could happen," said Benjamin Merino, 50. "Anything's possible." With that in mind, he and 150 other mostly Hispanic parishioners from Houston, Tex., arrived along the pope's motorcade route on Pennsylvania Avenue with an entire arsenal of spiritual tools: guitars, drums, tambourines, prayer books, bibles, video cameras and a 7-foot tall cross. If they could just catch a glimpse, a wave, a...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

washingtonpost.com editors 2008-04-16T17:14:23Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-16:/pope-watch/2008/04/such_a_cute_pope.html

Betsy Stabler, from Chevy Chase, stood in front of the British Embassy on Massachusetts Avenue this morning to see the pope when he returned to the Vatican Embassy after his visit to the White House. She had expected Benedict to move slowly up the road in his special car but he zoomed by at normal traffic speed, she said. "He went by really fast," she said. "But I still saw him and it was really...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

David Marino-Nachison 2008-04-16T14:59:33Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-16:/pope-watch/2008/04/the_pope.html

At the White House this morning, Pope Benedict spoke of freedom being a "summons to personal responsiblity" in his brief remarks. He called for the "cultivation of virtue, self discipline, sacrifice for the common good." No mention of the Iraq war. He did say that America's concern for the "greater human family" will support the "patient efforts of international diplomacy to resolve conflicts and promote progress. It remains to be seen Iraq it comes up...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Jacqueline L. Salmon 2008-04-16T17:26:20Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-04-16:/pope-watch/2008/04/students_greet_pope_with_happy.html

Pope Benedict XVI opened the doors of the Vatican Embassy on Massachusetts Avenue this morning to a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" sung in German and English by 110 elementary students from nearby Annunciation Catholic School. "Wonderful. In German and in English," the pontiff said as he prepared for an appearance later in the morning at the White House. He moved to a railing and shook hands with several of the students, including James Henkels,...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

David Marino-Nachison