Pope's pitch to youth at baseball 'cathedral'
NEW YORK -- One of this country's most famous secular cathedrals -- Yankee Stadium -- was transformed into a place of religious worship Sunday as Pope Benedict XVI celebrated mass in the legendary House That Ruth Built.
It was his last scheduled public appearance of a multiday, two-city visit to the United States -- the first of his three-year pontificate.
(AP)
Earlier in the day, he went to Ground Zero to pray for peace and meet with survivors, victims' family members and rescue workers at the site of the 2001 World Trade Center attacks.
As a cool breeze blew and the sun sporadically burst from behind scattered clouds, Benedict presided before a supersize version of the Vatican City coat of arms and soaked in the frequently boisterous love of 57,100 worshippers. Many of them chanted, clapped in rhythm, and waved yellow and white cloths. They shouted exuberant phrases such as "Viva, Papa!" and "Benedicto!"
During his homily, the pope spoke of "overcoming every separation between faith and life," and noted that the "church in America has united a widely diverse flock in the profession of faith and ... has also contributed significantly to the growth of American society as a whole."
He also beckoned young people toward religious vocations, imploring them to "open your hearts to the Lord's call to follow him in the priesthood and the religious life."
In a departure from several of his Washington, D.C., appearances, there was no mention of the Catholic clergy sex abuse scandal. However, the pontiff did briefly broach the controversial issue of abortion, getting cheers when he told the younger generation that only truths rooted in Christ "can guarantee respect for the inalienable dignity and rights of each man, woman and child in our world -- including the most defenseless of all human beings, the unborn child in the mother's womb."
About 400 Chicagoans were on hand to witness the grand-scale event. Rich Meyer, headmaster of Northridge Prep School in Niles, was among the local throng. "It's a ceremony like this that really helps you to understand that we're part of something much greater," said Meyer, who traveled with 80 teenage boys.
Chicago resident Carole DeCosse, who attended with nine girls mostly from Willows Academy in Des Plaines, was "super-moved by how warm the holy father was during his homily."
For Mary Anne Yep of Lemont, who came with her husband, Christopher, and three of their eight children, the experience was "a gift."
"It is electrifying to be in this stadium, to be in New York, to be in the shadow of Peter," she said.
