Pope John Paul II - Godspeed and God Bless!!
There have been three Popes in my lifetime, now soon to be a fourth. Pope John Paul II will undoubtedly be judged as the most influential Pontiff in this century, although time must pass before history can make a more 'unbiased' judgement. His suffering, yet refusal to submit at the end of his days may be a mystery to some, but not I think, to those of faith.So Godspeed and God's Blessings on John Paul II. He faith and his life are an example to all of us, so I believe.
I am both amused and irritated by MSM's gropings to find a way to say that this must mark a 'sea change' in the church, that they must choose a Pontiff who is more relevant to the world. I could not disagree more; the choice of a Pontiff, as always, is up the the College of Cardinals. It is apparent to me that John Paul II drew a line and stood by it - on one side lay evil on the other goodness, and life. We may not all agree on the points on which he drew this line, this moral standard, but we cannot doubt that the faith he exhibited made him an example for the rest of the world.
The Cardinals must choose as they see fit to best serve the needs of God and the Church, not on how the latest trends some MSM poll may show. It is obvious to me that many of these so called reporters need to at least find out the address of a church of what ever they were born/raised in and visit it at least once a year. As it is, the disconnect between most of them and religion in general, Catholicism in particular, is growing ever more apparent and embarassing.
Born and raised a Catholic, my own relation to the Church has waxed and waned over my life, yet I have never doubted the value of the Church nor felt any strong desire to practice another faith. I believe in God, the Creator, however you feel comfortable defining the Supreme to yourself. I have experienced things that leave me in no doubt of the object of my faith, although being human and weak, I may not always rise up to the standard of my faith. That does not mean I cease to try. To this end, Catholicism is my birth right and adult choice in how I express my belief and faith.
That is not to say I'm in total agreement with all of the current tenets from Rome. I don't agree that Rome or the Pontiff have some automatic dispensation that makes them infallible. The Church, at the end of the day, is a human attempt to define our relationship to God, and as a human organization, created and maintained by humans, it is subject to the same failures and foibles that all human endevours are prone to. The History of the Church shows us this; ignoring this is to deny that history and the lessons it offers.
In the history of the Church, celibacy as a mandate rather than a choice for priests is a relatively recent thing. As a married man, I see my relationship with and love of my wife as the greatest gift God could have given me, and I strive to be worthy of it every day. To say that this makes me or any married man automatically unfit for a priesthood is something the Church and I are in disagreement on. The same is true in my perception of the question of women as priests. These are/were decisions the Church made based on politics, rather than dogma, although they are not portrayed that way. I do not believe that this would weaken the Church, just the opposite in my opinion. But it is just my opinion.
The Church, or its reprentatives, are far from apolitical - which is to be expected in a human institution, but not a infallible religous body. After all, politics and political organizations are just fads that come and go in the history of the Church. The place of the Church is to provide a moral standard or compass against which all such 'fads' can be measured. My only problem with this is that up until the rise of John Paul II, the Church in many parts of the world was relatively blatantly pro-Communist. I can remember one Irish priest in our Parish had a constant on going debate with my parents on the benefits of Communism. My father had served during the Korean War, so had seen a Communist Liberation up close and personal; consequently he wasn't buying what the priest was trying to sell. That is not to say we disliked this priest, in fact he was one of the favorites we had of the ones who passed through our church as I grew up. I do think that his pushing a political as well as a religous agenda was, at best, inappropriate.
(As a side issue - if you hadn't noticed or read only the PR stuff on the IRA, you may not realize they have a Marxist/Socialist agenda - the 'liberation' of Northern Ireland is not their final goal, just a necessary step to the implementation of a Communist government - all disavowed in public reports of course. However, only a little research is needed to dig out the 'ultimate' end in mind.)
This just adds to my point that the Church is a Human organization that attempts to define the spriritual, and as a human organization, it is prone to human weaknesses and mistakes. It benefits neither the Church nor the Pontiff to attempt to clothe themselves in the shroud in infallibiliy.
Some would say my opinions are un-Catholic and I cannot call myself a Catholic as long as I hold them. That just avoids the questions these opinions raise and leave them unresolved. The church is a large organization with a long history, consequently nothing changes rapidly, but it does change. At the same time, I feel the pedophilia scandals that have rocked the church are the inevitable outcome of a male only organization with mandated celibacy. It was inevitable when it was first mandated, centuries ago, and it has to have been an ongoing problem that changes in our society and perceptions have made impossible to hide now. I say this indicates that we are possibly a less cynical society than in earlier ages, unwilling to let pass behaviors that in earlier ages got 'wink and a nod' despite the vows of the priesthood. The Church will incorporate this into itself and at some point it may reverse it self on celibacy and women priests. Time will tell.
What ever the failures or failings of the Church or its individual representatives, it has never ceased to attempt meet a higher standard. If nothing else, John Paul II brought the moral compass of religion and the Church back into public awareness and discourse, despite the scandals that rocked every religion at some point during his tenure. And despite the overt efforts of media and popular culture to portray religion as irrelevant and out of step with society, something that only the uneducated practice.
He sleeps in God now, and only HE can judge John Paul II's life.
God Bless John Paul II.
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