As much as some on the left and in the mainstream media rail against religion looking twice at politics, they sure don't mind mixing the two when it serves their goals, namely the death of the pope.
Now that the conservative stumbling block those devout Catholics labeled John Paul is gone, many are hoping that the church will make a left turn and follow Europe down the wide road. I find it interesting that the same people who were so afraid of Religious Ron and his nuclear family are trying to merge liberalism with doctrine. I guess the separation of church and state isn't as ironclad as we once thought.
Surfing through CNN, Fox and MSNBC yields countless armchair theologians or analysts guessing what the church is going to do. Every day there are panels of people demanding that the Vatican do this or that; it's really quite an earful. While some consideration should be made in allowing priests to marry, don't expect to see a radical transformation on abortion.
As much as I appreciate some insight, I think selecting the pope is best left to the red birds. These men are choosing someone they feel will best lead the church. They are not picking a new chairman for the Democratic or Republican national committees. I personally do not buy into their position that the pope is infallible (he's just a man, after all), but it is important that procedure be followed here.
John Paul was not some reckless dictator handing down orders. Rank-and-file Catholics around the world agreed with him about the issues, big and small. However, in America and Europe, people had "advanced" so much that some of these stances seemed trite and more suitable for a spot in the family archives. Call me crazy, but I think it would be good for us to embrace some of these positions.
Serving God and seeking to be close to him is not something that can be packaged like a political platform. In religion there are absolutes, while in politics there are opportunities. God has rules to live by, which may seem unfair to some, but in my experience I have found that living within boundaries gives you more freedom. I know what I should and shouldn't do, making life a lot less stressful.
We must always be careful not to try to repackage God according to our current preferences. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. That's a pattern of consistency you cannot find anywhere else in the world.
John Paul did his best in shepherding the Catholic Church. He may not have been perfect, and he may have run a tight ship, but he was not worried about making people comfortable. In many ways comfort is what is wrong with the "religious" world today. We are too comfortable in our padded pews. People in churches across America and the world need to remember that we are serving God, not the other way around. As awesome as we all are, I don't believe any of us has ever walked on water or turned water into wine, as much as that would come in handy at Park Bethesda.
Much has happened this last year, and I have enjoyed jumping into the fray every other Monday. I know I ruffled a few feathers, but hey, all sun and no rain makes a desert. Regardless of where your party dues go, from one AU student to another, have a great summer!
