Over at the New York Times, they have a running blog of various religious observers and experts, discussing the papal visit. Fascinating stuff. Some excerpts:

From Fr. James Martin, SJ:

“I am deeply ashamed,” Pope Benedict XVI said this morning, briefly addressing the sexual abuse crisis in the United States. “We will do what is possible so this cannot happen again in the future.”

The pope was expressing the same sentiment of every priest I know, not to mention every sister, brother and layperson. American Catholics are ashamed of the crimes of some of their priests — and the actions of too many of their bishops. The reports that began in The Boston Globe in January of 2002 were shaming for the priesthood in particular.

Yet men are still entering seminaries. Why?

Over the last few days I’ve received at least a dozen calls from reporters trying to make sense of that question, and to grasp the parlous state of priestly vocations. In 2007, according to the Center for Applied Research on the Apostolate, 3,238 parishes (out of a total of 18,624) went without a “resident priest pastor.” That means over 3,000 “priestless” parishes. Overall, the number of priests stood at 41,449 in 2007, down from 58,632 in 1965. And the number of graduate-level seminarians is down from 8,325 in 1965 to 3,274 last year.

Why would anyone want to be a priest after the abuse crisis? Who would want to join an organization like the Catholic Church, much less represent it publicly? How could someone still hear the “call”? What will the church do without priests? A few observations:

First off, the call has little to do with hearing voices. As long as I’ve been a Jesuit (20 years) and a priest (9 years) I’ve never met anyone who decided to seek ordination because he heard a voice. Or saw a vision. Or seen anything, for that matter.

Second, the call comes from a simple attraction or desire, like any vocation. It’s not all that different from vocations in the life of the layperson. Two people may discover their vocation to the married life by being attracted to one another. A doctor may decide to become a doctor because he finds that life appealing. So in the life of a young man drawn to the priesthood

At the most basic level a “call” manifests itself as a simple attraction. In these ways God, I believe, “calls” people to fulfill their vocations. Those attractions are still operative in the lives of men who see that the vast majority of priests are living healthy and productive lives. Believe me, seminarians, as well as men in religious orders preparing for ordination, are fully aware, and “deeply ashamed” of the clergy abuse scandals. But they are also aware of the great satisfaction that the vast majority of priests report in their working lives.

From Amy Welborn:

There’s a certain irony about Benedict XVI’s visit to the United States, and it’s this: the fact that from the 1980s right up to the day of his election a not-inconsiderable chunk of those who ran this Church he’s visiting wouldn’t have put him on their Friend’s List for anything. In fact, as someone remarked, it was the era in which “Ratzinger” functioned as something close to a swear word, the punching bag for frustrated progressive church professionals everywhere.

(Lest you think I’m making it all up, I just this minute came back from Mass where the priest began his homily making this exact point. There.)

Not that the actual pope at the time – John Paul II – was exempt, despite current media fashions that demand comparisons of the “popular” John Paul to Benedict. Once, sometime in the 1990s, a diocesan director of religious education – a religious sister – opined to other religious educators at a meeting I was attending that “…as soon as this Pope dies” things would certainly improve.

April 19, 2005, was probably not a great day for Sister.

From Alejandro Bermudez:

The sex scandal in the Catholic Church seems to be a never-ending story.

But if someone is capable of bringing this to some kind of closure it’s the Pope. Not only because he has the authority, but because he has given the only truly effective response the Catholic Church can provide to this painful issue: conversion. A key Catholic word that’s usually looked down upon, conversion means repentance, reparation and a 180-degree change.

Two of the Pope’s phrases delivered on the plane say it all: “I am deeply ashamed and we will do what is possible so this cannot happen again in the future,” and “We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry.”

The shame and the promise of change are very encouraging words. There will always be those who will find these words as “too little, too late.”

But looking back at all the pain, the bickering, the euphemisms, the grandstanding and the lawyers’ strategies, I think that this is the first breath of a gust of fresh air that this trip could bring.

There’s much more at the Times link. Check it out.

Meantime, there’s also some great bloggery happening over at Beliefnet, where the papal sage David Gibson (author of “The Rule of Benedict” and “The Coming Catholic Church”) is holding sway. And, if that’s not enough to slake your thirst, pop over to The Anchoress. She’s watching the papal activities closely, and has some great observations and links.

Finally, there’s Your Humble Blogger’s own modest contribution over at CBS News.