Ogden Avenue has certainly been no stranger to famous historical figures. After all, the street is named after William Ogden (1805 - 1877), the first mayor of Chicago, who-after his term as Mayor ended- came back east to build Villa Boscobel in the Bronx. Villa Boscobel was once one of New York's largest estates, and its guests included Ulysses S. Grant.

At the turn of the 21st century, Bronxites on Ogden Avenue have something a bit more recent to boast about. Pope Benedict XVI celebrated mass at Yankee Stadium on April 20, only a few blocks away from Ogden Avenue. But how do residents of Highbridge, and the Bronx more generally, feel about the Holy See and the positions that the Catholic church has taken since the former Cardinal Ratzinger was elected as the successor to Pope John Paul II, a little more than three years ago?

Registered Nurse Suzalin Llena, an instructor for the certified nursing aide training program at the Highbridge Community Life Center, said that she was pleased with the Pope's visit to the Bronx, and that she considered one of his strengths to be his receptivity to other religions. When I asked Llena about her views on homosexuals entering the priesthood, she replied that the Church has its rules and regulations, and that priests should follow the laws of the Bible and not practice homosexuality. In 2005, shortly after Pope Benedict's election, the Vatican published guidelines that said those who practice homosexuality, or even have "homosexual tendencies," should not become priests unless and until they renounce their homosexuality (The document was not directly issued by Pope Benedict).

Given the timing of the guidelines, they were widely interpreted as the Vatican's response to the scandal caused by the wave of priests across the country discovered to have molested young children. Critics, including gay-rights groups, charged that the Pope was dangerously treating pedophilia and homosexuality as if they were the same thing. In 2005, the Washington Blade named Pope Benedict its "anti-gay person of the year," citing the aforementioned document about gay priests, as well as Ratzinger's actions before he became the Pope; according to the Blade, in 1986, he called homosexuality an "instrinsic evil," and in 2003, he spoke out against gay marriage.

Shortly after arriving in the United States, Pope Benedict gave a speech in which he said: "I would not speak at this moment about homosexuality, but pedophilia, which is another thing," which some members of the media, including New York Times reporters John Holusha and Ian Fisher, interpreted as establishing a distinction between homosexuality and pedophilia. The Washington Blade also noted that the Pope appeared to wave to a gay Catholic group, Dignity Washington, during his visit to the Washington, D.C. area.

Llena said she was ok with church members being gay, but not with homosexual church leaders.

I also asked asked Llena what she thought the Pope should do to stop the slaughter of Black Africans --including Animist Christians-in Darfur, and in Sudan more generally: Human rights groups estimate hundreds of thousands of Darfur residents have been killed, raped, and tortured by the Janjaweed militias of Sudan, while millions have been displaced from their country. Human rights groups also say the Sudanese government is supporting the Janjaweed, and have condemned China, the host of this year's Summer Olympics, for its relations with Sudan.

Llena said she thought that intervening in this situation is a big challenge for the Pope, because China has its own religions-including Buddhism, Taoism, Islam and Christianity- and culture.

Sinai, a student taking classes at Highbridge Community Life Center who is a non-catholic Latina, said she thought the Pope's visit would have a positive impact on those seeking spiritual enlightenment in their private lives. Like Llena, Sinai felt that excluding homosexuals from the priesthood was justified, citing the passage in Leviticus which states: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination." But Sinai said that she was against discriminating against a person's personal choice of sexual expression.

But Shawn, a Latina Catholic interviewed outside of Monroe College, said that as long as they keep their vow of celibacy, she sees no reason why homosexuals shouldn't be allowed to become priests.

As I ventured further north on Ogden Avenue, I was able to get comments from one of the Bronx's Muslim leaders. Nurah Amat'Ullah is the executive director of the Muslim Women's Institute for Research and Development, on Ogden Avenue, and she says that the Pope's visit means very little to her as a Muslim. Since Ms. Amat'Ullah's organization does a lot of inter-faith work and operates a food pantry on a street named Benedict Avenue, I asked Amat'Ullah what she thinks about Pope Benedict baptizing the Egyptian-born man Magdi Allam, a non-practicing Muslim, during the Vatican's Easter vigil service. This baptism has infuriated some in the Islamic community. But Amat'Ullah said that it didn't bother her, as long as Allam finds some kind of spiritual fulfillment in his chosen faith.

I stopped at May Discount on 1392 Ogden Avenue to talk to the owner, Brian, who is an East Indian from Guyana. Brian said the Pope coming to New York is a good thing for young people to see and experience. Brian said that America's interest in religion is equal to its interest in politics, which he said is a change from the time of the nation's only Catholic president, John F. Kennedy; during Kennedy's time, Brian said, Americans didn't want a politician to wear his religion on his sleeve. But he said that, these days, widespread religious sentiment among the American public has resulted in every candidate making religion an integral part of his or her campaign.

Brian also voiced his concern about pedophile priests, expressing that the scandal had caused divisions in the Catholic church; Brian said that people want priests they can trust and believe in.

Brian took issue with the anti-abortion stance of the Pope and of the Catholic church more generally: Shortly after being elected, Pop Benedict referred to abortion as a "crime," and an "aggression against society." Brian said that women should have the right to do whatever they want with their bodies.

As far as the Iraq War-which many anti-war activists describe as a Christian crusade against Muslims in order to gain control of the region's oil supply-Brian said that money and religion are just two of the things that divide people. He wonders why different cultures and religions can't all live together without killing one another, citing the U.S. as an example of a country where such cultural harmony exists.

A block away from Ogden Avenue on 1354 Edward L. Grant Highway at Emergency Fashion , John, the cashier, was excited about the Pope's visit for another reason. "Maybe people who are going won't stop in, because they'll be too busy trying to get to the stadium, " John said. "But hopefully, they'll stop in on their way from the stadium. And that's a good thing."

Taishawn Brantley and Tony Richards contributed to this report.