Pope and Circumstance

Let me begin by first saying that I am not a “believer”. The concept of religion, to me, is outdated and, dare I say it? - Unnecessary. I hold with the belief that organized religion rose out of the need to lead large groups of people before civilization took hold. The first man who was worshipped as a God was probably the first guy who guessed the weather with more than 50% accuracy. And it was good.

This blog fell silent last week, because I had the urge to write about the passing of Pope John Paul II, but didn’t know what to say. It’s hard to write about a man who lived an amazing life without also commenting on religious ideas, and more specifically the totally backwards Roman Catholic Church.

To begin with, our Late Pope was a real man. He faced down the Germans during World War II, and then faced down the Russians for an encore. He brought his message to over 120 countries, and even took a bullet for his beliefs. I think you could rightly say that this was a man who wasn’t afraid of anything, least of all death. Think John Wayne with a pointy hat.

So, if he was so fearless – why didn’t he change the church for the better?

Granted, the Roman Catholic Church now does more good than harm (Once they got those pesky Crusades out of the way), but most of its ideas and beliefs can accurately be referred to as “antiquated” and “nonsensical”.

After all, how can you believe in the sanctity of life, but yet refuse to hand out condoms to full-blown AIDS patients? How can you believe in “Eye for an Eye” but not a women’s right to choose? How can you still fail to acknowledge the millions of dead humans who refused to accept the Lord as the one true God during a misguided attempt to fill your coffers?

As someone who was raised Roman Catholic but left the fold after realizing that the entire religion was based on guilt and fear – I must admit I still have momentary stomach flutters whenever someone mentions the word “hell” or “sin”. Before deciding to remain agnostic, I read up on our more popular religions trying to find one that sat right with my own moral compass – and I was sorely disappointed.

If the Roman Catholic Church is going to function as a business, then it needs to start capturing the attention of the younger generation. This is difficult, because the generation in question has more access to certain unassailable and universal truths – which religious teachings go against. We can thank the Internet for that. If the Church is to get over that big hump – it needs to start meeting truths with truth, and stay away from the mystical aspects therein.

If the Church does not want to function as a business, but instead as a spiritual aid to those in need – then it needs to begin celebrating the faith-based aspects of it’s teachings. It needs to implore that God does not make the Church – his disciples do. In other words – Bring back the Joy, and they will come.

I call upon our next Pope to look at things with an unbiased opinion, and make the changes that need to be made. I think we’re better off with religion in our lives – but I can’t recommend any of them as a good choice right now. Without looking at the current state of affairs honestly, and without acknowledging past errors in judgment, you will never attract a generation of information swallowing, speed of light surfing adolescents who are searching for higher meaning. They’ll look elsewhere, and it may be to our detriment. Both as a country, and as a race.

Amen.