Is The Pope Catholic?

“Is the pope Catholic?”
Back when people possessed the patience for polysyllabic witticisms, that phrase was the standard response when someone asked a stupid question for which the answer was self-evident.
These days, we simply grunt the cartoonish exclamation, “duh!”
So, today, when somebody asks, “Is the pope Catholic?” there must be some substance to the question.
It seems that a lot of people were surprised earlier this week when the white smoke rose from Saint Peter’s basilica announcing that the College of Cardinals had elected a Catholic as the next pope. Many people, including most of the press, seemed to be expecting that John Paul II’s successor would be a Unitarian Universalist or something.
And, judging by the reaction that that same mainstream press chose to highlight, it seems that a significant proportion of Catholics were hoping that the new pope would abandon tradition and be more in tune with elite opinion’s predilection for abortion on demand, gay marriage and starving the handicapped to death. In other words, they wanted a pope who was not, in fact, a Catholic.
Scarcely had Cardinal Ratzinger chosen his new papal name when the press began offering their own alternative suggestions, such as God’s Rotweiller and Pope John Paul II’s enforcer.
Now that would be a good name. Pope Rotweiller I. It certainly has a contemporary ring to it that Pope Benedict XVI lacks. Pope Benedict XVI seems, on the surface, less imposing than say, Super Bowl XXXVII.
But the most insulting pejoratives that were hung around Pope Benedict XVI’s neck by the press this week past was, “conservative” or “fundamentalist.” And his greatest crime was that he intended to keep to that old tyme religion.
Hey! Earth to liberals! He’s the pope of the Catholic Church! He was elevated to the rank of cardinal because he adhered to Catholic orthodoxy! His peers, who gained their stature the same way, were from the start absolutely certain to elect somebody whom they perceived as best equipped to defending the faith as they know it. You might as well criticize Republicans for failing to nominate Howard Dean as their presidential candidate last year.
My goodness! How can the press report on a world that it doesn’t understand?
The Catholic Church is conservative because it is supposed to be. A church is supposed to stand as a bulwark of morality against the stiff winds of popular culture, hedonism, and moral relativism. Any church that simply believes in what’s happening now has no validity as a faith. They might attract a few adherents who need reinforcement rather than guidance. But a religion that simply reflects modern fads and trends belongs on MTV, not in a cathedral.
I am not a Catholic because I have real doctrinal disagreements with Catholic teachings. Like many critics of Catholicism, I think that the Catholic Church could adjust a few things without doing itself any harm. I’ve yet to have a Catholic point to a biblical passage that forbids married clergy for example. I don’t really understand why Catholicism marginalizes women.
But, to expect that this or any other newly elected pope would simply toss aside those traditions and many other tenets to suit my tastes is really quite silly.
I wasn’t surprised that the mainstream media was so quick to pounce upon what they perceived as Cardinal Ratzinger’s deficiencies. What I find surprising is the number of Catholics who wish that their religion would change to accommodate their own prejudices.
Hey! Once again, what the Catholic Church stands for is written down for anyone to read. Catholics in name only who find fault with that doctrine should not demand that every other Catholic yield to accommodate them. They should find another faith. When King Henry VIII decided that Catholicism not longer suited him, he formed his own religion. It’s easier these days. Just go down the street. Surely there’s a protestant church somewhere that shares your opinions.
Is being called “Catholic” so prestigious that one will continue to keep the label even though one wishes he or she could overthrow what the church stands for? That seems a bit selfish to me.
Rather than lament that Catholicism has not remade itself to suit you, make yourself useful and pray that this pope has the strength and wisdom to guide the church through the challenges that confront it.