This is not a picture that would inspire a lot of confidence in papal decrees were I a Catholic worshipper. This poor man is just in a pathetic state- do they have to serve until death?
The Pope
by John Cole| 9 Comments
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The Pope
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Moe Lane
“This poor man is just in a pathetic state- do they have to serve until death?”
Pretty much: Popes simply don’t retire. Frankly – and forgive me for saying this, God – the absolute sh*tstorm that is going to erupt once JPII passes on is likely to be of sufficent intensity and anger that every day that it hasn’t hit yet is a bit of a relief.
Of course, the problem just gets bigger over time. I am mordantly afraid that Pope John Paul II’s reign is going to be remembered mostly for what will happen after it’s over.
Steve Malynn
Moe, the public transition will be gentle, due to the reverence for the current Pope. There might be deadly politics behind the scenes, but Popo John Paul II has stacked that deck too.
Moe Lane
“Moe, the public transition will be gentle, due to the reverence for the current Pope.”
Steve, that’s the only reason I haven’t really exploded -yet-; respect for the man has stayed my hand. Now, I’m just one guy, so my explosion doesn’t mean anything – but I know a bunch of other American Catholics similarly incensed, starting with my pious mom and dad and working its way across a pretty broad spectrum. -That- may be more of an issue.
“There might be deadly politics behind the scenes, but Popo John Paul II has stacked that deck too.”
That’s what concerns me. I want all the windows open and a nice brisk wind flowing through: behind the scenes machinations are almost guaranteed to produce business-as-usual. Business-as-usual got the American part of the Church in this mess in the first place.
RW
I’m not a catholic but I’m very religious & I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the assessment I gave my wife the other day during a news blurb:
“when you’re sitting in a chair & reading from a piece of paper into a microphone and you have to stop for a while because you’re too TIRED to continue reading, you’re knocking on heaven’s door”.
Frank J.
The man suffers to continue on, and what’s more Christian than that?
Steve Malynn
Moe, the problem I have with John’s vote of no confidence is the idea that we are somehow worshipping the Pope. With John Paul II we pray together to God.
I’m leery of an “open window”, look at the splintering Anglican church, and the constantly shifting Lutheran Synods — the result of compromising faith to be modern. [Disclosure: I was raised Missouri Synod Lutheran, converted to Roman Catholic in 1996.] The American Bishops are a completely different mess than the succession choice.
IMHO, JP II does not have the strength to fight for the reforms necessary in the US, but has ensured that his successor will be a similar conservative reformer.
Director Mitch
I think the WSJ said it best:
For nearly 25 years, John Paul II has taught the world how to live. He is now teaching it how to die. For some who gloried in the towering, robust Polish pope of days gone by, it is a difficult lesson to take. The involuntary trembling, the incomprehensible speech, the chin buried in the chest are painful sights; but to the pope such suffering is “a necessary gift” and a tool of redemption. This mystical understanding of redemptive suffering explains the impossibility of retirement. As bad as things appear, John Paul II’s papacy is not yet over. The active papacy may be ending, but the suffering, interior papacy has only begun. The twilight of his reign may be the most affecting and efficacious period of his long pontificate.
Dying is a part of life, and we are witnessing this man going forward to his death. What better lesson can we take from this example – more than “edicts” or someone issuing “reforms” for the 3% of the world’s Catholics who reside in North America
Jaybird
The world is not big enough for a Pope Emeritus.
Moe Lane
“I’m leery of an “open window”, look at the splintering Anglican church, and the constantly shifting Lutheran Synods — the result of compromising faith to be modern.”
Compromising faith for modernity is one thing; compromising -dogma- for the same is another thing entirely. I respect the church of my ancestors; my family’s been Roman Catholic for centuries (if not millenia – various activities by the English* have made record keeping a tad problematical for those of Irish descent) and it’s core teachings are a comfort to me. But there’s a lot of superstructure to Roman Catholicism that’s piled up over the last two thousand years, and it’s long past time that it be re-examined in light of what would be the wishes of God. He gave me a brain and a mouth; I expect that /He/ expects me to use both. :)
Moe
*I do not blame great-grandchildren for the things that their great-grandfathers have done. Just so you know.