Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Is the Pope Catholic?

I remember when Pope Benedict XVI was elected, a mere three years ago, there was some outrage from South America. They were disappointed that a South American cardinal had not been chosen, considering the numbers of Roman Catholics on that continent. They wanted a Pope who would represent the beliefs of the South Americans. At this point, I questioned anyone who would listen, “Is the Pope Catholic?”

How could people be outraged at the selection of a person who is known for upholding the tenets of our faith? Once elected, does a Pope have a nationality? No, the Pope stands for the Church. Why do people think that a Pope should change Church beliefs just because a mob of sinners think it should be so?

Matt Lauer cited several statistics, 2/3 of American Catholics do not prescribe to the Church’s teaching on divorce; 3/4 of American Catholics do not agree with the Church’s teachings on birth control; other statistics that were startling, which I did not catch the numbers, views on abortion, homosexuality, ordained women. Matt Lauer then asked, “How can Pope Benedict XVI address these issues with out being labeled a finger wagger? How can he get through to Americans without scaring them away?”

I do not think that Pope Benedict will, nor should he, “dumb-it-down” to be more sympathetic to Americans. To be honest, people like authority. People like to serve a noble cause. People want to hear truth, even if it hurts, even if it angers, because in the end, I think people want better themselves. People want to be good even when they do bad things. We are inherently flawed. It is a continuous journey to perfect ourselves.

The Pope IS Catholic, and the Pope wants us to be Catholic too. I ask you “Are YOU Catholic?” Pray. Confess. Act.

1 comment:

anne said...

AMEN sistah! :) I just finished reading several articles about B's visit to the US so far--"will the pope's visit to the US be political?" and "pope's statements on sex abuse scandals ring hollow for victims" and they only served to edify my support for Benedict. Everyone's picking on him (and the church) and I just wanna say "give him a break." He IS Catholic, and he deserves our support! :)