Catholic Wars: A New Pope

Well, it's been announced...the Catholic church has elected itself a new Pope, a German this time. This is only the second non-Italian Pope in the Church's history. I should be happy that we have a new Pope, but I'm not. I feel much like I did when George Bush was elected for a second term...disillusioned and disappointed. I didn't always agree with Pope John Paul II, but I respected him. I respected what he was trying to do, and I feel that through his efforts the Church was becoming much more broadminded and progressive. There were definitely problems with his papacy, but he seemed to be dedicated to bringing the Church into the 21st century. Pope Benedict XVI seems determined to send it right back to the Middle Ages. This Pope doesn't speak for me. As a divorced, practicing Catholic on birth control, I am just about everything this Pope has spent his life fighting against. It's sometimes difficult for me to take an active role in a religious community that doesn't accept the choices I've made in my life, and this election has made it even more difficult.

This may be a little odd for a practicing Catholic to say, but I don't think that Catholicism is the be all and end all. Despite what I may have been taught, I don't believe that being Catholic is the only way to Heaven. I see great beauty and, yes, even salvation in many other religions. I'm not so closeminded as to believe that God would set us on this earth with one particular religious agenda or another, especially one so contrived by humans. Let's face it, a good deal of the world's problems could be solved if countries actually tried understanding one another, especially on religious grounds, rather than forcing their own beliefs on everyone else (works politically too...though the Dork in the White House would disagree with me). You don't have to believe the same as someone else, you just have respect their right to believe differently from you. I had hoped that the Church was heading in that direction. I am disheartened to find that it is not, at least not from what I can tell of this new Pope.

I am also disappointed that there will be no moves toward allowing priests to marry or ordaining women, but I guess I didn't really expect that to happen soon. I think it's ridiculous that a woman cannot become a priest, but what do I know? I'm just a college-educated, progressively minded woman. The patriarchy of the Church is its greatest tradition and therefore it will not change...at least not in the near future. And as for priests marrying...well, who knows? That could change, but somehow I doubt it.

Basically, I am trying to stay positive about this new Pope, though clearly I'm not doing very well with that. I'm willing to give him a chance before I completely write him off, but I pray that he doesn't do anything to undo all the progress John Paul II made during his Papacy. Here's to hoping that he at least attempts to live up to John Paul's legacy.