Pope coming to the US!

Catholic Exchange is reporting a story carried at Life Site News on a possible U.S. visit by Pope Benedict.

Cardinal William Keeler of Baltimore has announced that Pope Benedict XVI will likely visit the US next year. In an announcement on radio, the cardinal said that he made inquiries while in Rome two weeks ago and was informed that the Pope, "is planning to come to the US next year, and that the visit to Baltimore was part of the program that he looked forward to participating in."

Vatican experts have suggested that the likely date for the visit will be October which would coincide with the General Assembly of the UN in New York. Rocco Palmo, the celebrated Vatican expert for the UK's Catholic paper, The Tablet, suggests that the Pope will address the General Assembly as have his predecessors.

Others, however, have suggested that the Papal visit may come as early as May, 2007. Catholic World News speculates that the Pope has told several prelates that he plans to attend a meeting of the Latin American bishops' conference (CELAM) in Aparecida, Brazil, in May 2007 and that he may add to his trip other Western nations.

This is good news, though the way that the USCCB has conducted itself in this country, I don't know that everyone shares that sentiment.