With the loss of Pope John Paul II an era has now passed. I myself have known no other man to be the pontiff in Vatican City. Many Catholics had started mourning since his ailing a few years ago. However, his health got very poor last week and a vast number feared the worst. The Holy Father sadly passed on Saturday after days of weak condition.
I am not Catholic, so I do not understand all of the sadness around this. I am not trying to sound hard-hearted, but I would like someone to explain to me what the fascination is with this man. Is he your Jesus Christ or what?
I know how they pick a pope, so I don't need that explained. Just give me an answer to this question. Who is the pope? Give a detailed description of who this man is to the Catholic people and what purpose he serves. Isn't he just the head of a church?
I would be sad if my pastor died, but I wouldn't go stand in the Bob Duncan Center and light candles and pray for hours straight. I would probably sit with my family and mourn the loss of my cousin. That is who our pastor is.
Again, I wish not to step on any toes. I like to think of myself as Fred Astaire if you know what I mean. I just want to get a handle on who this man is and why he was so revered. Was he like Gandhi or Buddha? Or is he just a leader of the church who did many good things for his one billion followers? Please, discuss.
5 comments:
I'm with you on this on Matt. I personally would like to know people's thoughts on having a spiritual leader who is so old he is to the point where he can't walk, talk, or hold his head up straight. How can he be a leader of a church, or an entire religion at that point? What purpose does he serve when he has been incapacitated for several years? That part of it has always seemed very strange almost ridicules to me.
What I don't get is why does the Pope (of all people) need Last Rites? Doesn't he speak to God personally? Why does he need to have his sins forgiven if he's so holy?
Good point.
I'm Catholic, so I can try to clear some things up:
Actually, we all speak to God personally through prayer. And the pope himself isn't stainless. By Catholic doctrine, his word is infallible, but he's still human and thus susceptible to human weakness. He needs the sacraments just as much, if not more, than anyone else in the church.
The pope is much higher up than your church pastor. He is the final authority on all church matters, not just one small group of people. Every move he makes affects the entire Catholic faith. That's part of what the big deal's about.
Pope John Paul II was the only pope I knew as well, but my mother told me that she had seen four of them, 3 of which died after short terms, and she explained that nobody really saw them publicly.
On the other hand, Pope John Paul II was elected relatively young, and he made the most public appearances of any pope in church history. He helped to end communism in his native Poland, made honest efforts to reach out to other religions in an attempt to resolve conflicts, and worked with several world leaders on political matters.
Not to mention perhaps the greatest act of forgiveness in recent history when he forgave his would-be assassin and made amends with him.
We're mourning the loss of a true leader, not just the head of the Catholic Church.
Thank you Alex for not being angry with my post and summing up some of my questions.
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