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Benedict in AmericaHuman Rights Cannot Be Limited, Pope Tells U.N.Pope Benedict XVI touches a United Nations flag at theU.N. headquarters in New York April 18. The flag was flyingover the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, on Aug.19, 2003, when a truck bomb killed 17 people.Neither government nor religion has aright to change or limit human rights,because those rights flow from the dignityof each person created in God’simage, Pope Benedict XVI said in hisApril 18 speech to the U.N. GeneralAssembly. The pope insisted thathuman rights cannot be limited orrewritten on the basis ofnational interests or majorityrule. But he also said the roleof religions is not to dictategovernment policy, but tohelp their members strive tofind the truth, including thetruth about the dignity of allpeople, even if their religiousviews are different. U.N.Secretary General Ban Kimoonwelcomed the popeand met privately with himbefore the pope addressed theGeneral Assembly. In hispublic welcoming remarks,the U.N. leader said: “TheUnited Nations is a secularinstitution, composed of 192states. We have six officiallanguages but no official religion.We do not have achapel—though we do have ameditation room. But if you ask thoseof us who work for the United Nationswhat motivates us, many of us reply ina language of faith.... We see what wedo not only as a job, but as a mission.”He added, “Your Holiness, in so manyways, our mission unites us withyours.”where some 3,000 bishops, priests, religiousand seminarians gave him a standingovation. The crowd broke intoapplause when the pope’s secretary ofstate, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, delivereda Spanish-language “happy anniversary”message and wished the pontiffmany more years. The pope took themicrophone and, looking out on the seaof faces in the neo-Gothic cathedral,smiled and spoke in a soft voice. “I canonly thank you for your love of thechurch, for the love of our Lord and thatyou give also your love to the poor successorof St. Peter,” he said. “I will do allthat is possible to be a real successor ofthe great St. Peter, who also was a manwith his faults and some sins, but heremains finally the rock for the church,”he said.At Ground Zero, SolemnPrayer and ComfortYoung Adults EnjoyImpromptu MeetingSeveral hundred young adults holding avigil behind the security perimeteraround the house in New York Citywhere Pope Benedict XVI was stayingwere rewarded April 18 with a papalhandshake. Helen Osman, director ofcommunications for the U.S. Conferenceof Catholic Bishops, said more than1,000 people had gathered throughoutthe evening near the residence of theVatican’s permanent observer to theUnited Nations, where the pope wasstaying. “Some just came out of curiosity,”but there were also others, playingguitars and drums. The young peoplefrom three New York parishes had beengathered by the Sisters of Life of NewYork, the order founded by the lateCardinal John O’Connor to promote the“Gospel of life.” At about 8 p.m. the U.S.Secret Service began allowing smallgroups to pass the traffic blockade andapproach the residence. Pope Benedictcame outside “after dinner” at about 9p.m., said Federico Lombardi, S.J., theVatican spokesman. The pope spentabout 10 minutes shaking hands withyoung religious and other young adultswho got the Secret Service nod.Americans Thanked forTheir Love and PrayersDescribing himself as “the poor successorof St. Peter,” Pope Benedict XVIthanked Americans for their prayers andlove on the third anniversary of his election.The pope made the imprompturemarks at the end of a Mass April 19 inSt. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York,Pope Benedict XVI offers prayers at groundzero in New York.In the most somber moment of his sixdayvisit to the United States, PopeBenedict XVI knelt alone at ground zeroand offered a silent prayer. The cheeringcrowds were far away as the popeblessed the ground where the WorldTrade Center stood until terroristscrashed airplanes into its twin towers onSept. 11, 2001. While the extraordinarysecurity measures that surrounded theMay 5, 2008 America 5