If you’ve been curious about whether the world comes to an end in 2012, or wondering if now is the time to seriously get closer to God …  please be assured that as far as any expert I’ve talked with …  the world will still be around pretty much as it is today in 2013. (That doesn’t mean, you shouldn’t cozy up to the big guy!)

Here’s the lowdown.

Fact: the ancient Mayans were great mathematicians and astronomers, obsessed with time. They created these long-count calendars of five cycles, totaling around 26,000 years. At the end of every cycle they predicted that some sort of major event would happen. What that event would be they didn’t know. The last cycle ends on December 21, 2012.

Director Roland Emmerich took that fact and created the worse-case scenario, for a big budget, $260 million, Hollywood disaster flick. It’s the disaster flick to end all disaster flicks.

Fact: Most Religions have End-Times prophecies. Most are preceded by some sort of series of cataclysmic events. None of the prophecies gives a time frame.

But that hasn’t stopped anyone from guessing.

People throughout history have looked on all our wars, natural disasters and general mayhem, as signs that the world is coming to an end. But yet, here we are.

There’s one prediction we can be assured of: With hundreds of books written about 2012 and the Mayan calendar, “2012″ the movie will likely bring good fortune to many a folk.

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Sparks flew between Gov. Mike Huckabee and Ann Coulter during last week’s show. Mike aired a bunch of clips of Ann blasting him during the primaries, insulting him with phrases like, “He’s (Huckabee) a stupid Christian”. Ouch!!! And other such similar comments.

Those of us in Greenroom were cringing and wincing. However, true to form, Mike handled it like the humble statesmen he is. He was diplomatic, but didn’t back down. And the next segment was devoted to talking about Ann’s new book “Guilty”.

However, guest Jerry Springer, watching from backstage had one suggestion during the more contentious moments of the interview… he shouted at Mike via the TV, “throw a chair!” Ah Jerry!

Musical guests this week were The Bellamy Brothers. Howard and Dave Bellamy first hit the national charts in 1976 with their hit “Let Your Love Flow”. It’s a song I thought they wrote. Turns out their big hit was written by one of Neil Diamond’s roadies, Larry E. Williams. It’s a fact Howard Bellamy made sure to tell me during rehearsal. But that’s how gracious these two Southern country boys are.

BTW,  they say they’ve probably performed “Let Your Love Flow” more than 6,000 times, BUT, were more than willing to play through it as often as us members of ‘The Little Rockers’ needed, to make sure it went well during the show. Mike joked that of those 6,000 performances, most of them were during our rehearsal!!! That’s a joke!

Other interesting stuff: Ann Coulter borrowed those silver hoop earrings she wore during the interview from FOX hairstylist Gavina Valdez. Ann was behind schedule and in a flurry and had lost one of her earrings along the way. So, instead of going without or just wearing one, Gavina lent her the pair she was wearing. Ann said they looked much better than her own. So if you watch the clip, know that those earrings aren’t Ann’s.

See you next week!!

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Me with the Elvis impersonators

What an absolute treat and honor to play on the ‘Huckabee’ show, with one of the greatest musicians alive today. Mr. James Burton is the former lead guitarist for Elvis Presley!

Today, Jan 8.,  is Elvis’s birthday. He’s been gone 31 years now. So last week’s show was a tribute to “The King”. On the show was James Burton, Rick Stanley (Elvis’s Stepbrother), as well as a couple of Elvis impersonators.

If you caught the show, “The Little Rockers” were honored to be able to play three tunes with the Hall of Famer: “Mystery Train”, “That’s Alright Mama” and “Love Me Tender”. Playing keyboards in back of Mr. Burton was an incredible learning experience. His solos alone are mesmerizing. But his graciousness in helping us to learn the chord progressions and last minute changes, taught us all more than a thing or two about what it takes to be a pro in the music business.

But while Governor Huckabee was handling the show in front of the cameras, between tunes some of us in the band (me and Bob Higgins, Guitar) got a rare treat to sit in the greenroom with Mr. Burton and Mr. Stanley.  For about fifteen or twenty minutes we listened to James and Rick reminisce and swap stories about Elvis, and what it was like to be a part of “the King’s” inner circle.

Mike with Rick Stanley

James Burton was gracious enough to answer my questions about Pricilla, Elvis’ wife. He said she and Elvis were actually great friends, that that was their relationship from the beginning. He said she was 15 and he was 20 when they met overseas while Elvis served in the military. “But Elvis loved the girls”, he added, meaning the thousands who wanted to be close to him, and the several who were able to get beyond the floodlights.  And that’s why the marriage eventually ended.

Rick Stanley said his older stepbrother was like a second dad to him… one that showered him with gifts and on occasion kept him out all night going to movies and restaurants. But for Rick, Elvis is the one that helped him find his faith. Rick talked to his step-brother only eight hours before he died, telling him about a woman who was praying for Rick because she felt he needed Jesus in his life.  Rick said Elvis told him, ‘You know, she’s right.’  That’s the conversation that always sticks in his mind.  Rick wrote about that and about his life with Elvis in a book called “The Touch of Two Kings: Growing Up at Graceland: a True Story” (Redemptive Arts Publishing 1986, 2008).

Me with Rick Stanley

Both James and Rick talked about how little the public knew about Elvis’s love of Gospel music. They said many times after the second shows in Vegas the King would love to retire to his suite with his entourage, and sing songs of the Old Rugged Cross. He’d sing the kind of ageless tunes that through the years gave comfort and strength to troubled souls… songs like “Amazing Grace”, “Turn Your Eyes to Jesus” and “Peace in the Valley”.

James Burton is one of the finest guitar pickers around, in both country and rock.  And even though he’s played and recorded with some of the biggest names in music like Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and John Denver, he will go down in history as the man the King would look at on stage and say, “Play it James.”

Don’t miss ‘Huckabee’ this Saturday at 8p et, as Ann Coulter and Jerry Springer join Mike for an all new, explosive episode!

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Political pundits are still weighing in on the Saddleback Forum of last Saturday evening, where Pastor Rick Warren interviewed the two presidential candidates.

So while the political types continue to offer their assessments, I thought I’d get some feedback from pastors. After all, the Evangelical vote is one of the most sought after constituencies, and could very well decide the presidency.

My panel of ‘pastor pundits’ includes Bishop Harry Jackson of Hope Christian Church in the Washington, D.C. area; Pastor Tommy Nelson of Denton Bible Church in Denton, Texas; and Mark DeMoss, President of the DeMoss Group.

Two of the pundits watched the forum, one didn’t. I talked with each to see how they judged the event, Pastor Warren, and the possible impact on this election. And I have to say that the most interesting response came from the minister who didn’t watch, Pastor Nelson of Denton Bible Church. He’s included in the panel because of his straight forward, southern comfort style views on politics and religion … and because he’s an evangelical who’s not enthusiastic about the New Evangelicalism that Rick Warren represents. His voice here represents thousands of other Evangelicals.

But first let’s hear from Pastor Rick Warren himself. He told me the response to the forum has been “over the top,” that one political pundit observed that he has “redefined the political discourse.” Whether or not that’s true, Warren says he loved the forum… that it allowed the American people to see the candidates, the way he sees them, that they’re totally different men with different gifts.

Pastor Warren says, Senator Barrack Obama has a “thoughtful concern” approach to issues, and that that will appeal to some people… while Senator John McCain is a straightforward commander, whose style also would appeal to certain people.

But Warren’s conclusion is that “it shows how God uses people,” uses their different gifts. Here you have two men with totally different personalities who are both serving their country by seeking the presidency. Warren’s two frustrations though was that time didn’t allow for follow up questions. He says he could have spent 30 minutes on each question.

But ‘no follow-up’ may have been a blessing in disguise says Bishop Jackson. Jackson, who’s also the author of “Private Faith, Public Policy,” has only kudos for Warren. “I think Rick Warren hit the ball out of the park.” He adds, “He’s just moved into the Billy Graham role, the D.L. Moody or our generation.” Bishop Jackson says that because Pastor Warren didn’t have time to ask follow up questions, the candidates’ responses had to stand on their own, and Warren’s position on the issues could not be inserted. Bishop Jackson says, “He [Rick Warren] asked the questions that the evangelical community wanted to hear,” on abortion, gay marriage..” He didn’t sidestep any of the hard issues.” … yet he asked them in such a way that was fair.

But has the forum and Rick Warren affected voter decisions? For that it’s time to turned to pastor pundit number two, Mark DeMoss. Officially DeMoss is not a pastor but works very closely with them, representing many including Franklin Graham, head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. TheDeMoss Group, is a public relations firm that specifically serves Christian organizations and causes. Mark is also the author of “The Little Book of Wisdom,” that contains what he says are “proven principles for personal and professional fulfillment.”
DeMoss says he thinks pastors are quite pleased with the direction of the forum. that the surprise was not in the result, but in the construction. He says “Most of us who follow the campaigns knew what the answers would be … we didn’t know what the questions would be.” And the questions and the style of the interviews, revealed “some distinctions that could make a difference.” But how, is yet to be seen.

And that brings up pastor pundit number three, the sometimes gnarly, Pastor Tommy Nelson, who shoots straight from the hip. First thing he told me about the forum was, “didn’t see it… didn’t know it was on.” Now before you think he’s an ignorant old fool, hear him out. (But in all honesty he did say of himself “I’m an old fart!” And he gave me permission to quote that. So read on.

Pastor Nelson, said even though he didn’t watch the forum, he talked to many of his staff members at his mega church near Fort Worth, that did watch it. He said everybody thought the format was great, “the idea that guys didn’t have the time to prepare nothing…honest ideas, on crucial issues of life as far as the Christian community” is concerned. They, Obama and McCain “didn’t get to be clever, and had to be honest.”

And the biggest compliment from Pastor Nelson, is that if he were to interview the candidates, it would be in the exact same way: back to back, the same questions, and let them say what’s on their minds… as opposed to a debate, which Pastor Nelson believes is of little help. He says “debates mar the issues of truth… debates expose good debaters but not the issues.” Forums like the sort at Saddleback expose thoughts, how candidates think.

As the election enters the final stretch, with both parties’ conventions around the corner, then the debates, and then the November vote… Pastor Nelson’s words may be worth remembering.

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If you saw the special a few weeks ago on “Honor Killings,”  you’ll be familiar with a young woman I interviewed. We did not reveal her name or show her face, at her request. But she has since written to me and expressed that she’s glad she did the interview.

“Honor Killings” is an ancient custom more associated with Islam today than any other religion. It is the practice of killing a daughter, wife or sister for the sake of the family honor. The woman is accused of committing some act that is deemed shameful, like not waring  a hajib the Muslim dress, having non-Muslim friends or boyfriends, seeking a divorce or refusing an arranged marriage. Often times the woman could be the victim of rape and is seen by the family as defiled and therefore to cleanse the family of its shame, she must be put to death.

The cases we see in America and in other Western countries have one theme; the women exercise their independence.  Like in the case of the 19 year old Rochester woman I interviewed.

We called her “Miriam” in the segment, but that is not her real name. Her brother stabbed her eleven times because he was trying to prevent her from leaving for an internship in New York City. Many tense filled arguments and conflicts in the months before led up to the attack.  The police report said Miriam’s brother called her “a bad Muslim girl.” She would have died that night had she not convinced her brother to take her to the hospital after she told him she’d lie about what happened.

I found this young woman to be extremely brave, in ways I know I never could be.  How many women her age, brought up in strong traditions of family honor, would have been able to do what she did?  She talked to the national media about a dirty little secret called “honor killings”.  She has defied them all… her mother, the brother that assaulted her and her nine other siblings… to tell her story.

Now, she is forever estranged from them. She can’t go to them for the nurturing and affirmation that we all want from her our families. And she misses that. Because regardless of how bad families can get, they are still your family.  Miriam says her family continues trying to make her feel guilty for what happened, as if it’s all her fault. But her note tells me that there is a bright future for her. She said “I am not going to let them break me and I will not give up.”

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I had a great time putting together the story about the campaign to send 100,000 Bibles to troops in 100 days. The campaign launched Memorial Day weekend, and has been going like gangbusters ever since. FOX producer Kathleen Foster, cameraman Mike Fagan and I, trekked out to The Jesus Book & Gift Store in Greenbrook, New Jersey, to report on the project.

The story on FOX News Channel, showed but a small glimpse of the thousands of people taking part in the campaign to get Bibles to our troops stationed all over the globe. The project is the brainchild of Jeff Hilliard and his non-profit organization Operation Worhship. Hilliard partnered with Tyndale Publishing to produce a small, camouflage Bible. the Bibles are available for $5 in Christian Bookstores around the country. And you can go to these stores, pay for the Bible, then write a message to a service man or woman, and give the Bible back to the store. The store will send the Bible to one of three Operation Worship warehouse sites. From there the Bibles will be sent to troops stationed at bases throughout the country and the world.

It was really heartwarming to talk to the Van Ness family. Mom & Dad and the four kids, Sarah, Stephen, Michelle and Matthew, all wrote messages in the Bibles. And it was a nice coincidence that brought them to the “Jesus Bookstore…” One of the daughters received a gift certificate to the store from a friend who’s parents are in the National Guard and have at times been deployed, forced to leave their children with relatives. The Van Ness family knew nothing about the Bible campaign until they walked in the store.

Mom Van Ness, talked this being a special week to do something for the troops. She said “When we celebrate the fourth the July you know we bring to remembrance that these soldiers that are going, that are in Iraq are doing exactly what those soldiers did back then, you know fighting for us so we can be independent, so we can live free, so we can worship freely in any way that we want to.”

If you want to participate in the 100,000 Bibles in 100 days, you can go on the Operation Worship website to find a store near you. If you want to go Jesus Book & Gift Store where we were and talk to owner Joe Catalano, you can find him at 301 A Route 22, Green Brook, NJ 08812.

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This time of the year one could call the Triple Crown of gift-giving, after the horseracing equivalent: The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness and The Belmont Stakes (I won’t digress about this year’s Big Brown mystery). The human version of the Triple Crown involves Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and the obligatory wedding this time of year that most of us will either attend, decline to attend or send a check or gift to.

All these days honor life’s most precious relationships. They’re relationships bound by love and commitment… and two of them are bound by the Fifth Commandment, “Honor thy Father and thy Mother.”

Honoring Mom is a no-brainer. A mother is the child’s lifeline, its source of nutrition and comfort for nine months in the womb, and then protection and comfort and food after birth. The mother-child bond creates this innate response in us to pay homage to her.

But honoring Dad is a little different. The father is the first “other” in a child’s life. The first person the baby knows other than the mother. The first ’stranger’ a child will learn to trust. But fathering today has lost much of the luster and prestige of the “Father Knows Best” years. However, it doesn’t mean fathers are any less important. In fact, according to the experts, a father’s involvement in a child’s upbringing is critical.

“Men have their own repertoire of parenting skills that’s different from the Mother,” says David Blankenhorn, author of Fatherless America and The Future of Marriage. To paraphrase Blankenhorn, he says while mothers generally nurture and protect, and fathers are more risk-takers and tend to be less afraid of danger. A child needs both parenting styles as part of a balanced upbringing. Blankenhorn, who also heads “the Institute for American Values”, says children who have fathers living in the household grow up to be more comfortable with strangers, and are more willing to engage in the larger world. Girls with fathers involved in their lives have a better self image and often make better relationship choices. While boys with fathers, good fathers that is, will be more respectful of women.

And statistcally speaking, when fathers aren’t in the household, the results can be disastrous for the child. According to the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, 90 percent of homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes; 63 percent of youth suicides are from fatherless homes. Fatherless children are twice as likely to drop out of school or repeat a grade, and were had the highest odds of winding up incarcerated. Also one of the leading indicators that a child will live in poverty, is whether or not he has a father in the household. In America that would be about 38 to 43 percent of children.

Now that I’ve painted a grim picture of the state of fatherhood, let me give some examples of men whose very lives offer inspiration.

Mark Forrest is an Irish Tenor who lives in Virginia. Years ago he gave up dreams of stardom and his name in lights on broadway, after his son was born with a severe defect and lived only five days. He began a spiritual journey that included the creation of the Faith & Family Foundation, an organization that raises money for special needs children. Mark sings full-time and produces his own albums. He and his wife now have seven boys ages 1 to 14, two of whom are blind and deaf. He says “burying a child caused me to look at what’s important” … “Life’s become so busy. What’s it all for?” Mark sings only on weekends and is always home for his sons Monday through Thursday. He no longer has dreams of becoming a household name, but only of “being the best father I can be.”

Michael Scalfani, is a retired car salesmam from Staten Island, New York. He’s been married 50 years to his wife Angela. They have three sons and six grandchildren. They volunteer as marriage preparation counselors at their church. Mr. Scalfani says the father’s No. 1 priority is to keep the family together, to communicate with his children the values they’ll need in life and to live out those values. He says “the role is really being there” just “being there for them.”

And finally Chris Bell of Sussex County in New Jersey. He’s a married father of seven children, one biological, six adopted. Five of the children have special needs. Chris opened and runs Covenant House, a series of homes where young pregnant women who’ve been abandoned by their boyfriends, can come and live during their pregnancies. Chris says the bottom line is, “kids need to be loved.”

These men are just a few of the hundreds of thousand of unsung heroes of fatherhood. Men who love their families and believe its a privelige to sacrifice for them. These men who would have it no other way. So this Father’s Day, salute dad for a job well done!

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The steam is still rising at the National Press Club after the speech by Dr. Jeremiah Wright, the much controversial pastor of Trinity Baptist Church, and, for some 20 years the minister of presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama.

First of all, please understand that Dr. Wright says many, many truthful things. He talks about the love of Jesus for all mankind, he talked about how your theology determines how you view people, society, what’s right, or wrong. This is sound theological points that deserve an “Amen.”

“Your belief about God is the beginning of your wisdom,” according to Dr. Tim Keller author of The Reason for God. “All your reseasoning, proceeds from there.”

 So I have no objections to Dr. Wright’s points about how society is ordered as to do how we understand God. And, if God is a white male then it follows that you would believe all power belongs to white males. If God is revengeful, and wrath-filled, then it would follow that you would believe there should be sharp and harsh punishment for certain kinds of people.

Generally speaking, after hearing Dr. Wright this morning, it is not surprising that what he says would make sense to anyone sitting in his pews Sunday after Sunday. For people who need bolstering spiritually, economically and personally, Dr. Wright’s statements are empowering. For those unsure what their place in society can or should be, Dr. Wright’s theology is a bold shot in the arm.

The black experience in America is quite complex. You grow up in a world that does not value you, in a world that does not favor your darker skin, coarse hair and other physcial attributes. The blow on your self esteem seeps into your social DNA and the result is a whole community mired in sense of dysfunctional, self-hatred that manifests itself in many different and sometimes unique ways. I could write a book (and many have) about this phenomenon. And Dr. Wright’s sermons are characteristic of the backlash from that African American experience that’s rooted in the most heinous part of American history, the chattel, raced based slavery, and the brand of Christianity that approved it. It took a civil war and the loss of hundreds of thousands of American lives, but slavery ended. However the wounds are still very much with us.

But what Dr. Wright fails to say in his fiery speeches is that although “good” white Christians were slave owners and fought to retain slavery, he fails to also emphasize that it was also White Christians that spearheaded the movements to abolished it, first in England and then in America. The irony of course is that slave owners justified slavery using the Bible, and white Christians fought to abolish slavery using the same Bible. It goes to show how powerful your cultural reference point is at determining what the Bible is for or against.

Dr. Wright also fails to point out that a former slave trader John Newton, faced with the awesome power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace”, a song that touches hearts in the deepest way possible, a hymn that both white, black and christians of all races sing, and are brought to tears by.

“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see…. Tis grace that brought me save thus far, and grace will lead me home.”

It would also serve Dr. Wright well to bring up Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his letter from an Alabama prison. He was put there because of the white Christians who didn’t like his brand of civil disobedience. Dr. King, also a Christian minister, didn’t ask the white Ku Klux Klan members to abandoned their faith. He told them to go deeper into their faith. Dr. King’s mission was not to conquer the white racists, but to help bring about their redemption through the only force that has the power to do  so.. their shared belief in the salvation through Jesus Christ.

Dr. Wright calls the media’s blasting of him an attack on the Black Church in America. I would say how dare he sully the power of the Black Church by hiding his incendiary comments about government based aids conspiracy, the propping up of Louis Farrakhan, and the “God d_____ America” sermon. The black church provided the foundations and spirit of the Civil Rights movements, of Dr. King’s famous speech “I Have a Dream”, and of empowering all races with the belief that we could live together in a community of peace. What Dr. Wright does is stoke the flames of hatred that would only serve to weaken the American spirit. It’s an American spirit born of a belief that “all men are created equal and endowed by their creator to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

What Dr. Wright did was use the trump card all liberal minded folk use when they want to end the confrontation, they use the race card. No media outlet wants to be accused of attacking the black church or of being racist. So it usually ends the argument with the victor never having to explain himself any further. That is what Dr. Wright has done. This time though, it won’t work. Our society is too changed from fifty years ago. We understand now that affirmation is so much more powerful than criticism, and that love more persuasive than law.

And since we are in the wake of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to America, it seems fitting to quote his prayer at ground zero when he said, “Turn to your way of love… those whose hearts minds are consumed with hatred.” Perhaps you might think this seems a bit strong a sentiment towards Dr. Wright. Afterall the Holy Father was referring to the terrorists who brought down the World Trade Center, not a man who sits in a pulpit on Sunday. But also remember that God’s commandments are directed primarily at what’s in our hearts, not in their outer manifestations. It’s directed at the seeds of hatred and unforgiveness, planted by what we hear and do. These seeds only need proper nourishment for them to grow and become a bountiful harvest. Just like the terrorists whose hatred toward America began with an Imam’s speech, so to is all actions against or for another. So I ask Dr. Wright, what seeds is he planting? What kind of harvest does he expect?

I leave it to those who read this blog to give me your opinions on Dr. Wright. I’m extremely curious to know. 

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It’s only been five days but this visit by Pope Benedict XVI seems a world apart from when he arrived.

On Tuesday, we didn’t know what to expect when he stepped off the plane. Now that we’ve seen him — the Shepherd One, this German nicknamed “God’s Rottweiler” — and heard his voice, witnessed his smile and incredible humility, he has become someone so close to us all.

I’m writing this at 8 a.m. from the media positions at Yankee stadium. After getting back from St. Joseph’s seminary at 9:30 last night, we had to be back at the media check in in midtown Manhattan at 3:45 a.m. this morning. The Mass begins here at Yankee in several hours.

The Mass will be the pontiff’s last big event in America. We hope it’s not the last ever, but it could be. Six days ago that fact was just information. Today that same fact saddens my heart, to think that this man who has become one of us may never grace us with his company again.

It’s gray and chilly this morning, almost as if even the weather is mirroring the mood of the moment. A sorrowful sigh at having to say goodbye to a new friend than in a short few days has become a trusted companion.

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Father Jonathan Morris and I are finally on site at the Youth Rally in Yonkers, N.Y. And, I think we can honestly say that we’re grateful to be here, after a wild bus ride from the big media security checkpoint in midtown Manhattan.

What should have been a 20 minute ride turned into an hour and a half journey. The secret service apparently didn’t check the route map well enough and didn’t realize that the West Side parkway bridges were too low for three tour buses (that were carrying hundreds of members of the media) to pass underneath!

The bus tied up traffic for at least 30 minutes as police stopped the flow of cars so the buses could back up about a 100 or so yards to exit and go around the overpass. Then, the narrow access road had no outlet to accommodate the buses. We had to make a U-turn in the intersection to go back to the parkway, enter after the low bridge and then on our way again.

Needless to say, we were late.

There are already thousand of young people from the various surrounding dioceses here.  Stay tuned — I’ll be writing all afternoon.

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What whirlwind trip the Holy Father is making through the United States.

A two-city tour seems more like a 20 city extravaganza. As I mentioned before the pope seems to be revealing a different side, with this effervescent personality that’s emerging. As Greg Burke so aptly put, the pontiff is having his “John Paul moments”! In fact, it’s more than a moment. Kissing babies, waving to the crowds, skirting the secret service to shake a few hands … it’s amazing.

But all that has not stopped the pope from making some very surprising and serious gestures. Yesterday he secretly met with three victims of priest sexual abuse. The meeting was so secret, the press person from the Boston Archdiocese didn’t find out till 2 a.m. of the day it happened (the victims were all from the Boston area). The Washington Archdiocese and USCCB (United States Council of Catholic Bishops) press persons found out from the news reports after Father Lombardi, the Vatican spokesperson, gave a couple of interviews. There were print photographers at the papal nuncio’s residents waiting for the pope to head out to another planned event, and didn’t know that the folks entering casually in the afternoon, were abuse victims getting a private meeting with the Holy Father! Amazing!

But it just shows us that the unprecedented frankness and openness with which Pope Benedict began on the flight over, was no accident. In fact I’ve been told the pope himself asked to meet with victims. Now other reports say Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley pressured the pontiff or at least urged him to meet with victims. So we may never know for sure. But I can speculate that because Pope Benedict, as Cardinal Ratzinger and the Vatican’s chief theologian, and saw hundreds, if not thousands, of these cases come ac cross his desk over the years, he would have a much more personal connection to the cases than John Paul II. In fact it was Cardinal Ratzinger who was responsible for adding sexual sins against minors, to the list of grievous sins that could be committed by a priest.

And, yes, the church didn’t do enough and responded too slowly or not at all. But Cardinal William Levada, who is now the vatican’s chief theologian and an American, said this afternoon at TIME Magazine luncheon, that if the majority of bishops in charge had known what they know now , “they would have acted differently”. Let’s hope so.

For no at least, it seems the tide has changed and the abuse scandal will not be swept away, allowing for the healing truly to begin.

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As the pope celebrates the first Mass on his pastoral visit, I just want to harken back to his speech last night to the 300 plus bishops and cardinals in America.

First of all I have to say I’m really beginning to like this guy. His subtle personality traits that are revealed when he talks to old friends show a different side of the man known as “God’s Rottweiler.” The lightest moment happened when one of his close cardinal friends asked one of the three questions. The Holy Father smiled with a twinkle in his eye and said something like, “Ah yes, I remember the interesting discussions we used to have.” The whole room erupted in laughter.

This is a side of the pontiff that America has never seen. And we like it, and I think the pontiff likes it as well. And as his trip progresses we’ll probably see more of his personality. It’s like the bookworm in school who was never popular but had a few close friends. And then suddenly his talents somehow saves the day (we’ve all seen those kinds of movies) and then becomes everyone’s hero.

The change of stature makes him a little more outgoing, a little more apt to show his personality. That’s what I’ve seen in Pope Benedict XVI. He came here to change America, to strengthen the Catholic Church here. But he probably didn’t expect that he himself would be changed.

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It was a very nice gathering on the White House lawn for the Pope’s 81st Birthday. What struck me most about Pope Benedict XVI and President Bush’s appearance at the White House was the overwhelmingly strong solidarity the president showed for the pontiff.

In his speech, the president mentioned St. Augustine, the fifth century philosopher and theologian from which Pope Benedict has fashioned many of his theological ideologies. The president also talked about life being sacred, a reference to the ongoing conflicts over abortion. And the president also used the pope’s own phrase “the Dictatorship of Relativism” when referring to ideas of “right and wrong” being rooted in absolute standards and principles.

My friends on the ground at the event fed me some of their own observations. Dr. Deal Hudson author of “Onward Christian Soldiers: The Growing Political Power of Catholics and Evangelicals in the United States.” (Simon and Schuster), wrote me this paragraph of his impressions, right after the event.

“The biggest event in the history of the White House was a great success with a spontaneous “Happy Birthday” sung to the Holy Father by an obviously-adoring crowd. The President’s mispronunciation of St. Augustine’s dictum “pace tecum” seemed not to be noticed, and the Protestant setting of the Lord’s Prayer sung powerfully by Kathleen Battle was well-received. But it was the all-male version of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” that had many in the crowd wiping their eyes as His Holiness clearly showed his enjoyment of the all-American hymn. There were no surprises in the prepared remarks — the real story was the size and warmth of the crowd and the obvious respect and affection of President Bush toward Benedict XVI. “

Also phoning in his impressions, Carl Anderson, the head of the Knights of Columbus in America. Mr. Anderson said the event “seemed more like a festival than a reception.” He also noted the president picking up on the pope’s phrase, “The dictatorship of relativism.” Carl said, thinking back to 1979 when Pope John Paul II visited Jimmy Carter at the White house, he didn’t remember that event being so festive. Today’s event had a special feel and the president was trying to drive home the point that this is “One Nation Under God.”

What you didn’t see from the various camera angles were many of the dignitaries and leaders of other faiths present. One that has a special bond with the Holy Father is Archbishop Demetrius, head of the Greek Orthodox Church in America. He knows the pope quite well and was even his interlocutor on the pontiff’s trip to Europe. According to the Greek Orthodox Church spokesman, the Vatican considers Archbishop Demetrius the highest ranking christian in America. That is why on Friday you will see him being seated last before the pope enters St. Joseph’s Parish for the Ecumenical meeting.

And finally the Holy Father’s words. I agree with Deal that there were no surprises, but digging deeper into his words you’ll find affirmation to bringing your faith into the marketplace of ideas. He said: “…to bring one’s deepest beliefs and values to reasoned public debate.” It’s another reference to his greatest theme of Reason and Faith, that you can find faith through reason, not blind emotion.

Next up… the Solomn Vespers and the meeting with the Bishops later today. This could be the place he makes his first reference to the priest sex abuse scandal.

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Pope Benedict XVI is now on the plane and soon to land on U.S. soil in a matter of hours. My thoughts on this visit are aplenty.

What will he say when he first speaks to the American people? What will he say to President Bush during their “private chat?” What kind of impact will he have on Catholicism and Christianity in America and the world? Yes, there are several planned speeches and events, but this pope’s mission goes far beyond the printed materials, or media ratings and sound bites. What we all must be cognizant of during the pontiff’s five days here is that his measure of success is not as the secular world would gauge.

I’ve admired this pope since I began reading his many, many tomes concerning faith, spirituality, the church and its mission on Earth. Benedict is about planting seeds for the future. Not the future that ends up on the evening news, but the future as it is grounded in the present understanding of a deeper more lasting faith … a future that may take 10 to 20 to 100 years to unfold.

He’s a theologian and scholar who sometimes overestimate the knowledge of his audience. But that is precisely why I call on OUR audience to listen carefully to what he says regardless of whether you agree with him or not. Because what he says has weight; what he says WILL influence those who can shift the tide of political and spiritual views; And also, what he says is grounded in deep intellectual research and ponderings. He does his homework, and carefully chooses his words.

Heavy and weighty talk is a little like listening to classical music. If you’re not used to it, five minutes of it will seem like 50, and pretty soon you tune out. DON’T DO IT HERE!

Like in Regensburg, Germany where the pope’s words ignited a firestorm of anger in the Muslim world, here in America his words will have world influence. He’s coming to the media capital of the world and talking to the largest cross section of people. A diversity of cultural, intellect, politics, races and yes religions awaits him. He will throw off the mantel of being “God’s Rottweiler” as Cardinal Ratzinger, or of living in the shadows of the charismatic John Paul II.

When Pope Benedict alights from the steps of the Alitalia plane called “Shepherd One,” he will emerge with his own mission. And it’s a mission for these times, and tailored to his suit his strengths. He will lay down the intellectual gauntlet of faith and reason as two pillars of God’s truth. He will tackle the secularism of the western world, and challenge people to find a faith based on reason, not the Enlightenment version that claimed you could be “good” without God, but a version that says if God exists then I can find him through reason.

Ruth “Bunny” Graham, Billy Graham’s third daughter, told me last week that God has a way of raising people to fit the times. It is just possible that God has risen Pope Benedict XVI for such a purpose as well. Just as John Paul II helped bring down the iron curtain, Benedict XVI could very well bring down religious fanaticism that is the greatest political and cultural challenge of our day.

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As you might have heard, Pope Benedict XVI is visiting the U.S. this April. As the Religion Correspondent, I’ve been busy helping put together a special scheduled to air Sunday, April 13.

The special called Mission to America: Pope Benedict XVI, will be hosted by Chris Wallace. I’m handling the U.S. side of things, while Greg Burke, the Fox Rome Correspondent, is busy with the European elements. Meanwhile our stunning producer Rachel Feldman is working feverishly to pull it all together!

This visit is the first by Benedict since he was elected Pope three years ago, after the death of John Paul II. In fact, Pope Benedict will celebrate his third anniversary as the Vicar of Christ and his 81st birthday, on U.S. soil. Although he has visited the U.S. a few times as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, this will be his first, and maybe his only trip to America as Pope.

One of the greatest challenges in creating a special about the Pope’s visit is trying to figure out what he’s going to say. The Vatican is none to eager to hand us the Pope’s talking points. So we’re left with asking various high-level sources some probing questions, like “What’s on the Pope’s mind?” “What does he want to tell Americans?” “Will he reprimand wayward Catholics?”

But one thing’s for certain … this Pope wants to inspire a resurgence of faith in Christianity and, of course in Catholicism, in America.

In the course of research, I’ve learned lots about this Pope, and have tremendous respect for him. Even many who don’t agree with his theology, acknowledge that he’s the “go to guy” when it comes to peaceful religious dialogue.

But if you want to learn more about the Holy Father, I can suggest you read one or some of his many books. He’s truly a scholar, the professor pope, who’s written practically a library of materials. Some good reading would be Milestones, which is his memoirs as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, before he was elected pope. But another interesting tome was not actually written by him but was an interview he did with a journalist. It’s called The Salt of the Earth. And the Pope’s latest book Jesus of Nazareth, is a great read for getting inside his theological mind and also to understand how personal faith is for him.

You can get a detailed schedule of the Pope’s five-day papal pilgrimage from the websites of The Archdioceses of Washington, D.C. and New York . The Holy Father will be arriving in the nation’s capitol on the evening of Tuesday, April 15.

During his two days in D.C. he’ll greet the president at the White House, meet with Catholic educators, Bishops and say Mass at Washington Nationals Stadium. He’ll also have an interfaith meeting with representatives from other religions. The centerpiece of his U.S. visit, and the initial reason for coming, is to speak at the United Nations in New York. That will happen on Friday, April 18. He’ll depart New York for Rome on Sunday April 20th after celebrating Mass at Yankee Stadium.

(Photo credit: AP)

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