Welcome, Papa

Pope Benedict XVI arrives today in the USA at Andrews AFB, MD where President Bush will meet him. Though he has been here several times, it's his first visit since becoming pope.

I'm looking forward to all of the papal reportage due for the next few days. Though I'm not Catholic and have no plans to convert, there is very much to admire about this pope, this man. And I believe that it's no coincidence that the world has a pope who has done a great deal of research on Liberation Theologies during the same time when an adherent to one of those theologies has a serious shot at becoming the most powerful man on earth.

However, am I the only one who finds it...odd for the pope to be arriving at a US military base?

(Pic courtesy of Getty Images and CNN)

Comments

[AJ]

Makes sense to me. Security. Both the Holy Father's and the President's.

Nailing them at the same time would be something on the order of Christmas, Hanukkah, Ramadan, Kwanzaa and Easter put together for the savage enemies of Western civilization. (Note: some religious holidays thrown in to pad the series and the magnitude of joy to those committing the 'nailing')

[Chuckg]

Nothing odd about it. When Pope John Paul II came to Chicago in 1979, his plane landed on what was then the Air Force National Guard/Reserve annex to O'Hare Airport, before it was hit by the base closings. I was a small child then, and my dad (who was an Army reservist) used his car's DOD sticker to get us on post so we could watch him arrive.

I would guess that the reason Air Force bases are used rather than civilian airports is that the security arrangements are much easier to make.

[baldilocks]

Thanks for the perspective; both of you.

[AH·C]

The Pope is considered a "head" of state, to whit, Ronald Reagan appointed the first ever envoy to the Vatican - State Department diplomat. Most if not all leaders land at a US base close to the destination. Likewise overseas, when Tempelof was still under US control - part of it at least - Clinton flew into it back in 94.

Back to your original point, I'm also glad that Pope Benedict XVI is an eloquent and effective voice against Liberation Theologyof any stripe.