The Pope has resigned. Some may question whether he was forced to resign. The lightning strike of the Vatican shortly after the announcement made people stop and think. Then there is the association being with the last Popes that resigned 600 years ago, yet those Popes (at one point three different Popes claimed legitimacy at the same time) were deposed. Perhaps de-Poped would be a better term. It was not too far afterward that the reformation, a response to a corrupt religious hierarchy, brought reform to Christianity and forced reform in the Catholic Church.
Could the latest Pope have been force to resign? I don’t believe that likely. Could there have been looming and newly manifesting issues that the Pope felt he was not best suited to deal with at his age or that his opinions on stood in contradiction with other forces in the church? That is far more likely though the official line that the Pope is simply getting too old for the burdens of the position has not been competently contested.
The only previous Pope who ever legitimately resigned was Celestine V in 1294. He was imprisoned shortly afterward by the new Pope Boniface VIII. This illustrates an ever looming flaw with the Catholic Church; absolute authority. The flaw can also be a strength if that absolute authority is truly united with God’s will, at least the will for his time.
Pope John-Paul II was an example of one that led in this world and was a powerful force in the liberation of those imprisoned behind the Iron Curtain. Pope Benedict XVI was left with the task of dealing with pedophiles in the church. We could simply call them homosexuals but that would be a misrepresentation. The root of this problem, and most all historical problems in the Church, can be linked to absolute authority, including the holier than thou aura placed upon the Priesthood. How the church has handled this crisis is yet to be judged.
The conservative orthodox message of the church may appear to be in contradiction to the dark realities found in America, Ireland and other places around the world, but the conservative orthodox message is the Church’s position and its strength. It is where conservative views and orthodoxy reign that the Catholic church has grown and been most vibrant. These same views are held by the leading Cardinals in the United States.
Some have claimed that there is no hope that an American could be elected Pope. The logic is that a Pope from a superpower would be too much influence for a single nation. This logic does not stand under current circumstances.
The Catholic Church stands in stark opposition to the pop culture the United States embodies and propagates throughout the world. Abortion and now the homosexual agenda are just some of the false ideals that have become part of United States diplomacy. What better spokesman to confront worldwide depravity being endorsed by the most influential nation in the world than someone from that very same nation speaking the very same language representing and empowering the good and upright citizens thereof?
Even the former greatest threat to the world, the communist block, held its people to moral standards. They claimed moral superiority in the traditional sense. They supported family. They sowed the seeds of immorality here to destroy our society in the quest for world dominion. It is the Russian Republic, formerly the Soviet Union, that is the only free nation taking a stand against the homosexual agenda. Ironically as their strategy to destroy the United States and turn it into a communist state come to fruition, the fruits of their tactics threaten to plunge the whole world into social and economic collapse, including the Russian Republic.
Despite the Church’s flaws they have not allowed those flaws to influence the true message. Where John-Paul II brought down atheistic communism starting with his own native land of Poland can a Pope from the United States bring an end to the mainstreaming of immorality in the world? Someone has to.
Africa is also very important to the Catholic Church and to the world. Human rights abuses are rampant on one hand and on the other good people are being besieged with the immorality of the Western World. Strong direct leadership on a continental scale is required. A native speaker of English, the International language, may hold some bond of familiarity with the people. French, the old International language, being widely spoken throughout Africa would be an argument for a French speaking Pope.
The world is entrapped in moral confusion. The simplest concepts of integrity and honesty are absent in our politics and secular culture. It will take far more than the Pope to turn this world around. It will take nothing short of a worldwide Christian revival. John-Paul II was far from solely responsible for the fall of communism but he was an integral, perhaps indispensible part. Where will the next Pope take the Church and what will he bring to the world?
1 comment:
Francis I; the first American Pope. Not as I had hoped for. Though geo-religious concerns may have had some influence the holiness of the individual was of paramount concern. Or in different words; who God had in mind doesn't always match with our own desires.
My views were influenced by my being a US American, Milwaukee's ties to Cardinal Dolan and the real possibility he could be Pope. I thought of adding a South American angle but my intent was not to predict the new Pope but to point out that the United States, a once great nation, has become a source of deprivation in the world. Also that this world is in dire need of a religious revival.
Francis I is in a good position to confront the United States if that is how he feels guided by the Holy Spirit. He is also in his right to empower, direct someone such as Cardinal Dolan to challenge this government. It does not have to be a Pope that speaks out.
Francis I will hopefully be an integral part of a worldwide revival beyond the limits of the Catholic Church.
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