When Pope Benedict XVI makes his first papal trip to the United States in April, he will be guided by a seasoned Vatican ambassador who sees the visit as an opportunity to introduce a little-known pope to a complex set of audiences: American Catholics, Americans in general and global opinion leaders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe image of Benedict XVI is not only not well known, but it is badly known,\u201d\u009d said Archbishop Pietro Sambi, who, as apostolic nuncio, is the Vatican\u2019s top diplomat in the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is known as an intransigent man, almost an inhuman man,\u201d\u009d the archbishop said of Pope Benedict in an interview at the Vatican Embassy in Washington. \u201cIt will be enough to listen to him to change completely the idea of this tough, this inhuman person.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
The pope\u2019s visit, from April 15 to 20, will draw Catholics from around the country for Masses at Nationals Park in Washington and Yankee Stadium in New York. He will meet President Bush at the White House and talk to Catholic educators at Catholic University of America in Washington, pray at ground zero in Lower Manhattan and address the United Nations.<\/p>\n