The Pope In America: It Was Woo-hoo-woo

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consumerism." Said the Pope to an audience that again fell silent: "Christ demands openness to our brothers and sisters in need — openness from the rich, the affluent, the economically advantaged; openness to the poor, the underdeveloped and the disadvantaged. Christ demands an openness that is more than benign attention, more than token actions or halfhearted efforts that leave the poor as destitute as before or even more so."

At crammed Madison Square Garden, the Pope displayed his remarkable rapport with youth. The occasion was billed as "Youth in Concert with Pope John Paul II." Once again, John Paul circled the arena floor in his Popemobile, reaching out exuberantly to youngsters leaning frantically out of their seats. The crowd went wild when he hoisted a young girl onto the roof of the vehicle. The 100-piece band from St. Francis Prep in Brooklyn played themes from Battlestar Galactica and Rocky. The Pope imitated a drummer and then gestured "thumbs up" with his left hand. For a few minutes, John Paul sat in the audience as he watched a slide presentation of youthful activities in the city. When he finally ascended the stage, young people presented him with gifts: among other things, blue jeans, a T shirt marked in red letters BIG APPLE WELCOMES POPE JOHN PAUL II and a guitar (an instrument that John Paul plays).

The Pope, obviously delighted, examined the gifts, and as he prepared to speak, the cheering built in a crescendo. Every time the noise would start to die down, someone would shout "Polish power!" or the name of a local high school or Catholic Youth Organization club, and the yelling would begin all over. Football-style cheers resounded from the balcony in praise of the Pope. John Paul shook with laughter. "Woo-hoo-woo," he cooed. But when he finally took the microphone it was to deliver to the young a serious Christian message: "When you wonder about the mystery of yourself, look to Christ, who gives you the meaning of life. When you wonder what it means to be a mature person, look to Christ, who is the fullness of humanity."

While in New York, the Pope at his own request also toured visibly blighted areas — not only Harlem but the South Bronx, where he pleaded with a crowd at a vacant lot not to "give in to despair." His visit concluded with the ceremonies at Battery Park and Shea Stadium. After telling the crowd in Shea that a city must have a "soul," he left for Philadelphia. As his plane taxied away, the Pope blessed New York.

In Philadelphia late Wednesday and early Thursday, John Paul pointedly answered some of the voices of dissent within the church. Ukrainian-rite Catholics, who have been agitating for more autonomy within the church, he insisted that they must accept his authority. To an audience of 14,000 priests, nuns and seminarians gathered from dioceses all over the U.S., he repeated uncompromising stands against the ordination of women and for priestly celibacy.

The Pope closed the door to ordination of women as priests during his pontificate. That, he said, "is not a statement about human rights, nor an exclusion of women from holiness and mission in the church," merely a reaffirmation of "the prophetic tradition" that only men can be priests. John Paul insisted on priestly celibacy "to express the