Changing Red Shoes for Brown

Pope Benedict XVI, the 265th leader of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of the Vatican State, has once again become simply Joseph Aloysius Ratzinger. He is the first Pope in 600 years to retire. I presume he has a good pension! I was impressed with the thousands upon thousands who came to St. Peter's Square to send him off to Castel Gandolfo for a well deserved rest. His recent appearances on television showed that he is not a well man.  On a recent trip to Mexico he fell in the bathroom and hit his head on the sink. Not too long ago he was given a pacemaker. When dispensing his blessing recently in the square his voice and whole demeanour revealed an exhausted and worn man.

Unfortunately, his tenure as Pope was not a happy one.  It was a tough eight years. Conspiracy theories and allegations abound: was he treated for cancer; embarrassed by the VatiLeaks or by the revelation of a gang of gay homosexual priests in Rome; sexual abuse allegations that seem to be world wide; endless law suites; the failure of the Vatican Bank; factions among the Cardinals just to name a few! 

In spite of it all he did step down with dignity. The leader who is elected to replace him had better be ready to introduce reform and quickly deal with these problems or more people will abandon the ranks of the Catholic church.

I no longer profess faith in the Catholic church even though I was brought up a Catholic. As a youth I had heard about priests with drinking problems, but never a word about sexual abuse among the clergy. I now know that the Bishops were experts in hushing up these scandals and shipping the bad boys off to be bad boys in some other location. Many of them, and their victims, paid dearly for those decisions.

Many years ago, while studying in Europe, I decided to take a trip to Rome over a holiday period. One of my friends, knowing that I was Catholic said to me, "If you get sick in the barque of Peter, stay out of the engine  room." I went anyway. I was shocked at the wealth and the hypocrisy. I remember being in Saint Peters Basilica, the largest church in the world, while the monks were chanting psalms near the main altar. It was quite beautiful as they sang in Gregorian chant. But, to my horror, since many of them knew the verses by heart, they were chewing gum, reading newspapers and whispering to each other. I thought their chanting was intended to be a time of prayer, a time to sing the praises of God in whose presence they believed they were! I was told the singing of the psalms took place a number of times each day and that was what these men were selected to do! I actually did begin to feel sick in the engine room of Peter's barque.

It is unfortunate that when men become too deeply immersed in power, wealth and tradition they lose sight of the changing nature of the world we live in. Pomp and ceremony have a place in our lives. We all love a marching band or a royal wedding. But fundamentally what pomp and ceremony can become, if not adjusted to the present realities, nothing but good old entertainment. We did not go to church to be entertained but to seek spiritual support and the hope of a better life! Today they go to the movies or to the world of electronics such as TV, computers, portable devices, and the sports stadium.

 I think it was said that the Church and its leader enjoy infallibility when it comes to teaching the doctrine of revealed truth. Infallibility is sometimes defined as the inability to err.  Infallibility never mean the church was immune from sin! The serious nature of the many problems facing these grey haired, red robed gentlemen in search of a new leader, will destroy the very organization they wish to preserve. They must, in the next few weeks, face up to their responsibilities and elect a leader who is courageous enough to purge the the Church of those who will destroy it if left alone. Obviously religion is very important to millions of people in the world. If the church of ex-Benedict XVI is to continue to meet the needs of its followers it better wake up and practice what the gospel teaches or the great Vatican State will become just another tourist attraction among the many ruins already scattered about the beautiful city of Rome.

And that's Dick's View of the World this Week