While recognizing the importance of national bishop’s conferences, Benedict worries that these organizations dull or mute the individual voice of bishops. Expect him to urge his bishops to be more forthright and zealous in the way they exercise their office when he meets with them in the crypt of the National Shrine during his visit next week.

This clip is an excerpt of my 2003 interview on EWTN with the future Pope, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

For Benedict XVI, the sexual abuse scandal was the tragic result of a breakdown of faith and the lack of clear moral teaching in the Church.

The scholarly Pope believes that what is taught and retained is primary -- and that is why he made a personal decision to speak directly to Catholic educational leaders during his upcoming US visit. By clarifying Catholic teaching, Benedict believes he can internally protect the Church against future scandals and refortify it.

In this excerpt from my interview 2003 interview on EWTN with then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope reflects on the “root causes” of the clerical sex abuse crisis.

During his visit to America, Pope Benedict will certainly highlight the importance of cohesive families. He will probably make some reference to it at the UN and get into a more detailed exploration during his visit with young people in Yonkers, New York. Here is a general overview of his thinking, pulled from my 2003 EWTN interview of him before he became Pope.

If everyone interested in Pope Benedict XVI's April 15 - 20, 2008, visit to the United States had been tuned in to the Catholic Church for the last 2,000, there'd be no need for this blog. You'd immediately recognize the implications of everything the Pope says and does, and be able to easily negotiate the "Vaticanese": that language particular to the Church that you will no doubt encounter in the week ahead.

But most of us aren't immersed 24/7 in the culture, politics, history and theology of the Roman Catholic Church and its interaction with the surrounding culture -- so this blog is here to help. I plan to offer some background on this Pope (including clips of an interview I conducted with Benedict before his election to the papacy ) and highlight personalities, events, and ideas the press might have overlooked. I'll try to bring some context to the coverage, drawing attention to themes and utterances that might elude others.

As the News Director of EWTN, the Global Catholic Network, and host of its international news magazine, "The World Over" I have covered the interaction of faith and culture for 12 years. Throughout the papal visit I will be anchoring our live coverage of Pope Benedict's every move on EWTN. I've also authored two New York Times bestselling books: "Mother Angelica"
(Doubleday) and "Mother Angelica's Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality" (Doubleday).

I hope you'll join me here during Benedict's journey -- and beyond.