Putting the Pope into perspective
OK, somebody has to say it.
Amidst all the praise of Pope John Paul II—and he was certainly a remarkable man who charmed and changed the world in many respects for the better—it must be remembered that for 26 years he has led an organization that has distorted the truth of the Christian Gospel and deceived millions of people, without in any discernible way moving that organisation any closer to the truth.
On the day he was elected, he said:
Dear brothers and sisters, we are still all very saddened by the death of the very dear Pope John Paul I. And now the most eminent cardinals have called a new bishop of Rome. They called him from a far-away country, ... far, but always near in the communion of faith and the Christian tradition. I was afraid in receiving this nomination, but I did it in the spirit of obedience to Our Lord and with total trust in his Mother, the Most Holy Madonna.
I don't know if I can express myself well in your—in our—Italian language. But if I make a mistake, you will correct me. And so I introduce myself to you all, to confess our common faith, our hope, our trust in the mother of Christ and of the Church, and also to begin again on this path of history and of the Church with the help of God and with that of men.
Just how far the Roman Catholic Church has departed from the truth is a matter of great sadness and distress to all who put their hope and trust in the surer ground of the glorious Jesus Christ.
Last night, on the ABC's Lateline show, the auxilliary Bishop of Melbourne, Mark Coleridge, was asked what sort of person the Catholic Cardinals would be looking for as the next Pope. His reply was telling:
Look, I think that they will be looking for all of those qualities [a deeply spiritual man, a man steeped in prayer, a very humble man] and more, but I mean, if you make the profile of the ideal Pope, not even Jesus Christ on a good day would qualify.
Doesn't that say it all.