NEW YORK CITY I was in Manhattan on business Saturday when Pope Benedict XVI’s motorcade made its 25-block journey from St. Patrick’s Cathedral to the Vatican Mission to the United Nations.

As the popemobile passed by crowds lined up 15 deep on the sidewalks of Fifth Avenue, I was struck by the contrast.

Here was the pope, the world’s best-known spiritual leader, traveling through a canyon of the icons of U.S. capitalism –– Rockefeller Center, Tiffany & Co., Saks, and Louis Vuitton, among others. Nearby was Lehman Bros., Citigroup and the Trump Tower.

It seemed to be two, separate worlds. Or is it?

Benedict linked the different spheres when he spoke to 3,000 mostly religious and some political leaders at St. Patrick’s, the symbolic seat of American Catholicism and the start of his motorcade.

“The spires of St. Patrick’s Cathedral are dwarfed by the skyscrapers of the Manhattan skyline, yet they are a vivid reminder of the constant yearning of the human spirit to rise to God,” he said.

When I read the other messages that the pope delivered during his six-day visit to the United States, I realized that the modern papacy is connected more than ever to international economic, social and political issues. His words carry weight and are used by many to support causes. They also prompt sharp reaction.

Benedict’s first visit to the United States will be remembered for his denunciation of, and expressed shame about, the sexual abuse scandal in the church, and the way he met and reached out to the victims. But he also delivered other messages. There was a reminder to leaders that there is a moral obligation to act against human-rights abuses and humanitarian disasters. He also spoke about the importance of Catholic education, especially for the impoverished and immigrants.

The pope talked several times about immigrants, and I’ll remember the image of the huge crowd of people of different nationalities who went to the airport to see him off on his return to the Vatican. Immigrants and their impact on local economies have become a divisive political and social issue in Rhode Island and across the country.

Immigrants also are an important part of the Catholic church’s stability and growth. There are about 65 million Roman Catholics in the United States, or about the same 25 percent of the country’s population that has existed over the last 30 years.

About 18 million, or 28 percent of all Catholics, are Latinos, and they account for more than two-thirds of those who joined the Catholic church in this country since 1960, according to data from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Benedict cultivated that group.

Several times he spoke about the importance of keeping immigrant families together, not dividing them.

The separation of families is “truly dangerous for the social, moral and human fabric” of Latin and Central American families, the pope told reporters on his plane on the way to the United States.

“The fundamental solution is that there should no longer be a need to emigrate, that there are enough jobs in the homeland, a sufficient social fabric,” he said.

If that’s not possible, families should be protected, not destroyed.

The pope reportedly raised the same issues during a private meeting with President Bush, and later to a gathering of American bishops.

The pope avoided any specific references to the politically charged debate over illegal immigrants or state and national policies being enacted to deal with them.

But the American bishops used the pope’s references to explain their position in favor of federal legislation that creates a way for illegal immigrants to be granted legal status and expand legal avenues for immigrants to bring their families from abroad. Last year, the bishops embraced federal legislation, supported by President Bush, but not enacted by Congress, that included a path to legal status for 12 million illegal immigrants.

Several bishops also decried immigration raids, in which illegal workers have been arrested. It brought to mind last year’s action at a New Bedford factory.

The pope’s words, and the bishops’ strong position, brought a swift reaction from those who argue that illegal immigrants are sapping the economy and costing taxpayers money by providing free services.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., told The New York Times that Benedict’s comments were “faith-based marketing” and “may have less to do with spreading the Gospel than they do about recruiting new members to the church.”

Tancredo added that it was not in the pope’s “job description to engage in American politics.”

Benedict’s visit, and his messages, will be recalled, dissected and debated for years.

I’ll remember standing on a curb in the shadow of the skyscrapers, watching the approach of a phalanx of motorcycles driven by blue-uniformed officers. They were followed by black SUVs and then dark-suited security agents, escorting the popemobile. Benedict, dressed all in white, with a cross on his chest, sat comfortably in the back on a raised platform, moving his right hand to bless the cheering crowds.

It seemed such a contrast, until I noticed that on one fender of the limousines that accompanied the pope was an American flag. And on the other there was the white and gold papal flag.

It’s all one world, one story, isn’t it?

jkostrze@projo.com