The Catholic Church has begun grouping “North” America with “Latin” and “Central” America as one America. Pope Paul was the first Pope to visit the Americas on October 4, 1965. He broke the tradition of treating the Americas separately but rather as one with common issues. These issues include extreme wage gaps, immigration, drug trafficking, human rights, consumerism, and secular thinking. The main issue at stake for the Catholic Church, found across the continent such as New York, Do Paulo, and Mexico City, is the loss of Catholic faith. What was once a thriving Catholic region is now endangered by present day culture and religions originating in the United States. Threatening religions to the Catholic Church in America include Jehovah's Witness, Mormon, and Protestant evangelical churches. These religions influence Mexico and then make their way to the latin American countries.
Papal visits to North America
On October 4, 1965- Pope Paul VI sets foot in New York City for thirteen and a half hours, becoming the first Pontiff in the Western Hemisphere. During his visit he had a thirty five minute address where he spoke on the disarmament in the nuclear age quoting the first American Catholic President, JFK. He visited President Lyndon Johnson for forty six minutes at the Waldorf Astoria hotel. He visited St.Patrick's Cathedral and a Church near the UN. Starting in Queens going through Harlem and eventually down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, he made a 25-mile procession greeting millions. He ended his visit with 90,0000 worshipers celebrating Mass at the Yankee Stadium. He finished his trip viewing Michelangelo's Pietà at the World’s Fair in Queens. It is estimated he was seen in person my one million people and on TV/Screen by 100 million. with U.S. President Jimmy Carter at the White House, Washington D.C., United States. On October 1979- Pope John Paul II went to America on his first of seven trips. He started in Boston and went to New York where speaking at the United Nations where he advocated for human rights for all, especially for those of Palestinian Arabs. He spent two days in New York, finishing with 80,000 congregants by celebrating mass at the Yankee Stadium reminding individuals for the”urgent need” to aid the poor. He then met with President Jimmy Carter, becoming the first Pope to enter the White House. He made an address on the South Lawn to 100,000 guests where he spoke on arm’s limitations on nuclear weapons and his stance against abortion.
Present times
Pope John Paul II, known as the first Pope to truly travel to different nations, took a pilgrimage to the Americas to focus on a “reconquest.” During the Pope's visit to the Americas he wanted to focus on Mexico as the bridge between the different nations as the majority will soon no longer be Catholic. He made seven trips over two decades. He wanted to discourage Catholics from other religions or growing secularization. During the Pope’s fourth trip to Mexico he delivered the conclusions on the November 1997 synod on “America.” The Vatican holds North America as a crucial aspect to the Catholic Church as it is the world's superpower made up of mass international culture and the large population of Catholics. Mexico is the second largest Catholic nation. In hopes of reversing the cultural influences of the United States in order to maintain the current level of Catholicity, the Church is sending what many call confusing signals. It is using modern mass marketing in an ad campaign that promotes the Pope's visits but condemns much of modern society. The mass communication efforts of the Church to North American through intense publicity reflects the hardships the church is going through with secular thinking and represents the efforts it is willing to make to spread the word of Christ in a modern form.
