Tomorrow marks the start of Pope Benedict’s visit to New York, but according to Newsweek’s Lisa Miller, American Roman Catholics aren’t all that excited about it. Why? Because Benedict “has done very little to win the hearts of his American flock at what may be the most critical moment in their history.”

Citing grim statistics and the past Catholic Church sex abuse scandal, Miller says what American Catholics want now “is to feel something, a catharsis, a connection to their tradition, a sense that their leaders see and hear how difficult it can be to be a Catholic in this imperfect and chaotic world.” But Miller says they won’t find that in Benedict:

The majority of American Catholics are not naive. They don’t actually believe that Benedict will overhaul church teachings on birth control, on the ordination of women or the celibate clergy–many of them don’t want him to. What they want, at the communion rail and in the person of their Holy Father, is the unity their church promises them, a sense of connectedness through God with all the other Catholics–indeed, all other people–in the world and in heaven. This is not a shallow or frivolous desire but an urgent one, and when it comes to Benedict, so far these Americans aren’t feeling it.

What do you think of Miller’s conclusions?