First of all, let me start off by stating the facts here. I'm not Catholic, never have been, no one in my family is to my best knowledge, never been inside a Catholic Church even. However... I am a thinker and a devout believer in God, just not necessarily religion.
However, I spent the last few years before the last Pope's death mesmerized. His personality, his sincere belief in his faith, and his genuine warmth and care about not just his fellow Catholics but ALL of God's children was something we humans haven't seen in a very long time. For a brief time, I even considered converting because of the charisma that was John Paul II. I was working janitorial the last few days of his life and I prayed that he wouldn't have to suffer anymore - hadn't he lived long enough, done enough good for his fellow humans, and brought enough wayward souls back to God? Shortly thereafter, he quietly slipped away - not into the abyss, but I'm sure straight to the pearly gates where he was surely welcomed with all the hoopla that the very best in humanity gets.
This being said, I am now worried, not just for all the Catholics - but for all of humanity - by the words of this current Pope. JPII did so much to heal relations amongst the faiths, and amongst Christian denominations. Now this new one... Benedict... Not sure what number he is... decades of work by JPII is being ruined and thrown away. To accuse all non-Catholics of not being REAL Christians is blasphemy - and this coming from the POPE!!!! I am truly saddened. But perhaps it too is a sign of the end. There are those that believe that the world will come to its end either at the end of this Pope's tenure or during the next one.
So what are we to do? We must speak up against this blasphemy against all that is good and righteous. We must not allow the world to think that this man speaks for all Christians - although Pope John Paul II did very well at this without anyone asking him to. There were times we disagreed with JPII but it was never on the core tenets of Christianity and what that meant.
May God forgive this man - and I pray God pulls him aside and shows him the error of his ways. Please feel free to give me your suggestions.
2 comments:
sorry
Like you, I don't agree with the Pope's theology in regard to Christians of other denominations, but I have to applaud his honesty. After all he is only repeating official Catholic doctrine. Doctrine that has been official ever since Martin Luther instigated the reformation that spawned other denominations, including my own.
That is all he is doing, repeating current Catholic teachings. And untill there is a change of Catholic teachings officially, it is his job to enforce and propigate the Catholic Church's teachings, wrong though they be.
I, also like you, had a great admiration for the previous Pope, but the Pope is only the public head of the Church and not the church itself and thus he is also bound by its teachings.
Another reason why I follow Christ and His teachings and not a man or a denomination!
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