VATICAN:The pontiff may respond to the "open wound" of clerical abuse within Catholic Church, writes Paddy Agnewin Rome
"LET US just hope that somebody in his circle gets to read the speeches this time and that way we won't have any little surprises."
As Pope Benedict XVI sets off today for a six-day pastoral visit to the United States, stopping in Washington and New York, at least one Vatican-based diplomat had his reservations about just how "controversy-free" this trip will prove to be.
Bearing in mind the huge controversy generated by the Pope's remarks on Islam in his infamous Regensburg university address in the autumn of 2006 - remarks that the pope himself felt were taken out of context and misinterpreted - the possibility for similar "misunderstandings" over the next week is there for all to see.
On this much-hyped visit to the US, his first as pontiff, everything Pope Benedict says and does will come in for intense scrutiny.
In his meetings with President George W Bush, with Catholic clergy, with representatives of five different religions (Jews, Hindus, Muslims Buddhists and Jains), not to mention during highly symbolic moments such as his visits to Ground Zero and his address to the UN General Assembly, Pope Benedict will hope to steer the sort of careful and measured diplomatic path that does not always come naturally to him.
In a video-taped message to the US faithful released last week, the pope set the tone for this trip when saying that the theme of the visit will be "Christ Our Hope".
"I shall come to the United States as pope for the first time to proclaim this great truth. Jesus Christ is hope for men and women of every language, race, culture and social condition . . . I know how deeply rooted this Gospel message is in your country. I am coming to share it with you in a series of celebrations and gatherings . . . It is God who saves us, he saves the world and all of history. He is the shepherd of his people. I am coming, sent by Jesus Christ, to bring you his word of life."
Will such a clear pastoral message find a warm reception? Many of the US's 65 million Catholics clearly consider the pontiff too doctrinaire and conservative, especially on issues such as abortion, contraception and homosexuality. Many US Catholics, too, remain outraged by the depth and scale - and to a lesser extent the cost - of the clerical sex-abuse scandal in the US.
In this latter context, secretary of state Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, speaking to Fox TV last weekend, said that the pope would address the clerical abuse problem in his homily at next Saturday's solemn Mass for priests in St Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue, New York.
Cardinal Bertone said he expected the pope to acknowledge that the issue represented "an open wound" for the Catholic Church.
Citing the deep suffering felt by victims of sexual abuse and their families, Cardinal Bertone said that such acts were "a flagrant contradiction to the teachings of the faith".
Although only a minority of priests were involved in such scandal, the damage was felt by the entire Church, said the cardinal. "The pope will invite the entire Church, priests and lay faithful, to reconciliation, so a future of justice, reciprocal trust and healing may begin for the Church in the United States."
Will such remarks satisfy the vast lobby of those harmed and damaged by priestly sex abuse? That remains to be seen.
Likewise, in his address to the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday and in his meeting with Mr Bush in Washington on Wednesday, the pope is certain to steer a quiet diplomatic path.
Bearing in mind that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the pontiff will once more underline the fundamental, unique and vital role played by the UN in guaranteeing human rights worldwide.
In that sense, he will be underlining the Vatican's traditional pro-UN stance.
With regard to Mr Bush, the pope, or his entourage, may make public those controversial issues on which the two men see eye to eye - abortion, stem cell research and "moral relativism".
However we are likely to hear less of their disagreement on matters such as the war in Iraq - to which the Vatican was and is firmly opposed - and the widespread prevalence of capital punishment in the US.
The fact, however, that Mr Bush will be standing on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force base, Virginia, today to formally welcome the pope, a gesture not always provided for under White House protocol, indicates just how important the Bush regime attaches to this visit.
Perhaps the most keenly awaited moment of all on this visit, however, will come on the one occasion when the pope will not make a speech. Next Sunday, he will visit Ground Zero in New York, descending to the bottom of a 21metre (70ft) pit to recite a prayer and light a candle in memory of those who lost their lives in the September 11th, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Centre.
This will be at least one occasion when Benedict's tendency to produce a "little surprise" should be contained.
Whether it will be that way for the rest of the week remains to be seen.