Papal Privilege: A Recent Graduate's Encounter with Pope Benedict XVI

It's been months, and Aditya Vora '08 still exhales in wonder and disbelief when he thinks about it.

“It was unreal,” he concludes.“Nothing like this has ever happened to me in my life. I didn't know how to feel or react.” How often do you get to meet the Pope?

His April 17 encounter with Pope Benedict XVI came during the pontiff's first and much-publicized U.S. visit. Vora was one of five young people who met with the Pope as part of an interfaith peace-building event organized by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which took place at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C.

Vora was representing the Jain religion, one of the oldest faiths in the world. Originating in India, Jainism counts among its main principles nonviolence, respect for all life (“Most Jains are vegetarians,” says Vora,“and don't eat anything that was once living”) and acceptance of multiple worldviews. Vora's father, Arvind, a prominent figure in the Jain community who served as the adult Jain representative during the Pope's event, likes to illustrate the latter concept with a popular tale: Seven blind men are gathered around an elephant, trying to determine exactly what it is. One touches its trunk and says,“It feels like a hose.” One touches its leg and says,“It feels like a pillar.” One touches the bristles on its tail and says,“It feels like a broom.”

“The whole point,” says Vora,“is that we each have our own limited perspectives on life and can't grasp everything. Each thing we see is true; to grasp the whole picture, you have to accept and respect other people's viewpoints.”

This winter, when the U.S. bishops were in the process of selecting young representatives of world religions to interact with the Pope, they met with young Jains at the Jain Center of America in New York. They were impressed with Vora's resume, detailing his high school activities with the Long Island Multi-Faith Forum (through which he helped organize“cultural awareness day” at his high school), his involvement with anti-prejudice and multicultural training programs, and his ongoing dialogues with a local Holocaust survivor. He had also received the Student Human Rights Award from the Smithtown, N.Y. Anti-Bias Task Force.

Fr. James Massa, executive director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, met Vora for coffee early one morning along the New Jersey Turnpike to learn more about him. Obviously, he liked what he heard; just weeks later, Vora learned that he would be traveling to D.C. in April.

Despite his elation at being chosen, Vora reacted with typical Haverfordian modesty.“I thought there were much more deserving Jain youths,” he says.“But I recognized it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, quite an honor.”

Vora planned to present the Pope with a gift, a metallic cube largely designed by his father:“It was his blood, sweat and tears.” The idea of the cube was in keeping with the Jain principle of aparigraha, or multiple viewpoints:“When you look at a cube, you can't see all six sides at once.” The sides were inscribed with texts including five Namokar mantras that are recited daily by faithful Jains and also featured the symbol of ahimsa, a hand that serves as a Jain representation of nonviolence, and a documentation of the date and the fact that Aditya Vora was presenting the gift to the Pope.“It even had my birthday,” laughs Vora,“so no one else will be confused as to which Aditya Vora it is.” The top of the cube bore the face of Mohandas Gandhi, who, although not born into the Jain religion, adopted many of its principles of nonviolence.

On the day of the event, which was billed as“Religions Working for Peace” and included a papal speech and a prayer service for Jewish attendees, Vora shared his anxiety and excitement with the youths representing Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism:“We were all really nervous.” Vora had briefly rehearsed what he might say during the ride to D.C.—he figured that he would at least wish the pontiff, who turned 81 on April 16, a happy birthday—but practicing didn't prevent his heart from tapping out an uncomfortable staccato rhythm as the time of the meeting neared.

When His Holiness finally appeared, Vora noticed what he describes as an aura about him:“When he walked in, he was practically glowing.” His movements, Vora reports, were serene and peaceful.

The actual meeting itself took no more than 40 seconds: Vora presented the cube and explained its significance to Jainism, the Pope thanked him and he received a special commemorative coin from a member of the pontiff's entourage. In retrospect, Vora wishes he'd taken more time to savor the moment.“I think I rushed through it more than I would have liked; I wasn't thinking straight,” he says.“I also didn't know it was a tradition to kiss his ring.”

Vora calls the meeting life-altering.“It was the transformation of fantasy into reality,” he says.“A few months before the ceremony, I could only imagine an event in which the Pope was united with leaders of eastern religions like Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism as well as the more universal Judaism and Islam, in the joint cause for universal peace. That it actualized, and I was able to participate in this magnanimous ceremony, has become a lustrous part of the fabric of my life, and I can look back on it and draw inspiration for day to day activities.”

He hopes the event itself, with its intention of promoting peace through interfaith dialogue and cooperation, has an even more significant impact on the world at large.“For the Pope, a respected authority figure to millions, to head this event was a good step,” he says.“I hope many people who admire him will follow his lead of tolerance rather than oppression.”

-Brenna McBride