Later today the papal entourage will leave the United States for the holy city of Rome and the enclave known as the Vatican.For some, it couldn't be soon enough as they did not appreciate Benedict's put-down of American culture and his attempt to blame priestly sexual abuse on America's "perverted" view of sexuality.
The first day on these shores, the pope asked "What does it mean to speak of child protection when pornography and violence can be viewed in so many homes through media widely available today?
"Children deserve to grow up with a healthy understanding of sexuality and its proper place in human relationships. They should be spared the degrading manifestations and the crude manipulation of sexuality so prevalent today."
This from an aged celibate who wears dresses, believes in the sacredness of "virginity," and declines to treat women as equals to men!
As Ada Calhoun said with regard to the pope's comments about sparing children: "They should also be spared a religious hierarchy that protects the priests that abuse them. The Pope has yet to explain what the Church is doing to expel pedophile priests, and he continues to stand by bishops who covered up the abuse for years."
So, for many, it's "Goodbye and good riddance."
For others, the pope's departure will be cause for great sadness. The pope is considered a beacon of light in the spiritual darkness of America. The pope offers the way of salvation, the answer to our problems. He represents all that is good and noble. He represents God!
Thus, Mark Shea at the Weekly Standard compared the relationship between Benedict and the Americans to that of St. Paul and the Corinthians. You remember the Corinthians, a bunch of drunken, irreverent louts. Shea calls us a "Paris Hilton kind of people," who are mired in "a culture that is desperately in need of the clarity, humility, beauty, and love of Christ that [Benedict] preaches with such marvelous grace." (from Roy Edroso, Alicublog)
When the pope leaves, we are deprived of the closeness of this "clarity, humility, beauty, and love of Christ." That is a cause for mourning.
On this Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI was in New York to lead a prayer service at Ground Zero. The pontiff invited 24 people to pray with him -- survivors of the 9/11 attacks, relatives of victims and a few rescue workers. "He prayed for peace, hope, and healing, including for those who became ill after breathing toxic air in the ruins."
As part of the ceremony, Benedict went down a ramp close to where the north tower stood, knelt and prayed silently, blessed the ground with holy water, and supposedly paid tribute to the "many faiths of the victims."
I'm not opposed to what the Pope did in New York, but I have a few of questions:
The Pope is supposed to be the "vicar of Christ," to know the mind of God, and to be the vessel in which God's truth is poured out to then be sprinkled on all humankind. When the pope prays, is his prayer more effective than, say, the prayer of a Baptist, or an Episcopalian, or a prayer by Pat Robertson? How about the prayer of a Jew? Or a Muslim? Or a Buddhist?
Does the pope pray for the victims and does he pay tribute to the "many faiths of the victims" when he's home in Rome?
Is his prayer more effective if it's said at the actual site of the devastation?
What does the holy water do?
Why does he (and other clerics) wear clerical garb even though he's not doing clerical duties? Or is everything the pope does considered "clerical" because he is Christ's vicar on earth? I don't think Christ wore red slippers, though.
The big question, however, is this: How can a German Roman Catholic, once part of the Third Reich, be the "vicar" of a first-century, homeless Jew who wandered the dusty roads of Palestine and wouldn't know a Catholic from a dipstick?
3 comments:
The history of Popes indicates that most, if not all, were mere human beings, subject to the same faults as most. Many had severe faults and abused their power. Others violated the basics of Christ’s teachings frequently. The Pope’s actions or lack of actions during the Hitler year and since did little to stop genocide; enforce the principles of love for all, including enemies. Catholics still manage to hate others a easily as do members of other faiths.
The Pope speaks as head of his church yet many do not obey his rules or teachings. I wonder if any other faith’s leaders are treated with the same degree of awe that a Pope is. Who listens to Rabbis or Muslim clerics with the same respect and awe?
Catholics have choices, like other denominations. They can stay or leave the church; obey or not, pick and choose, etc. I hope they enjoyed seeing their leader. Now he is returning to his throne and we will all go back to normal.
Bob Poris
In light of all the fawning over Pope Benedict XVI, I would like to remind everyone exactly how this pope feels about the sexual abuse of children and those who do the abusing: In 2001, while he was a cardinal, he issued a secret Vatican edict to Catholic bishops all over the world, instructing them to put the Church’s interests ahead of child safety.
http://lavrai.com/blogs/2008/04/20/pope-led-cover-up-of-child-abuse-by-priests/
I think Catholics must decide what they wish to do. Some no longer send their kids to church unless they are with them to make sure that they are not abused; others assume the problem has been resolved; others have left the Church.
It is a problem for Catholics and their Church. I wish them luck.
Bob Poris
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