Cd. Szoka remembers not taking 'no' for an answer
Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published September 14, 2007
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Michigan Catholic file photo
Pope John Paul II speaks to a crowd gathered in Hamtramck. The backdrop, The Black Madonna, is a favorite Polish representation of Mary. Cardinal Edmund C. Szoka, then archbishop of Detroit and not yet named a cardinal, is at the far right. |
Detroit — When Cardinal Edmund C. Szoka, then archbishop of Detroit, found out Detroit had been left off the itinerary of Pope John Paul II's second visit to the United States as pontiff, he wasn't about to just take "no" for an answer.
After all, the choice of cities for the 1987 visit had been made by the American bishops' conference, not by the pope himself.
"So, I wrote a letter directly to the pope, in Polish, and asked him myself," Cardinal Szoka recalled in an interview last month.
Although he received no reply to his letter, he considered that a good sign. "He didn't write and say 'yes,' but he didn't write and say 'no,' so the door was still open," the cardinal said.
He then wrote a letter to the pope's secretary, in Polish, and on the way back from a trip to the Holy Land, stopped in Rome. "I asked to see the pope and he invited me for dinner. We talked through dinner, but (the U.S. trip) didn't come up. So, at the end of the meal I said, "Holy Father, you didn't tell me if you're coming to Detroit."
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Photo by Jim West
Pope John Paul II talks to those gathered at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit as Edmund C. Szoka, archbishop of Detroit at the time of the papal visit and not yet a cardinal, listens closely. | The Holy Father mentioned having received many requests, but again neither said "yes" nor "no."
But the pope's secretary advised him to talk to the Vatican official who arranged papal visits. When that official told him a Detroit stop would be out of his way, Cardinal Szoka replied, "What am I going to tell the people in Detroit — the pope isn't interested in them, or what?" and the official said, "No, we have to do something —maybe the pope could write a special letter to the people of Detroit."
Cardinal Szoka recalled leaving Rome feeling discouraged, but then, in January 1987, he got word from the bishops' conference that the pope would come to Detroit.
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Pope John Paul II gets close to the people in a tour of the Silverdome in his popemobile. |
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Michigan Catholic file photo
The crowd gathers to hear the pope speak at Hart Plaza in Detroit. | Of the largest event during the visit, the Mass at the Pontiac Silverdome, Cardinal Szoka recalled, "We had about 100,000 people and it was really magnificent, because with that dome it was like a big cathedral — it wasn't like a stadium. I was with him in his popemobile, and when they opened the door to go into the stadium, that was just fantastic — to see 100,000 people, and I'm sure he was moved too."
Cardinal Szoka said the visit was also "a real inspiration to our priests."
"We had one special session in the cathedral just for priests and religious, and the priests were climbing over each other to get close to the aisle, so I think it was a great boost for them and a great encouragement for them."
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