When I read on Thursday afternoon (Pacific Time), that Pope John Paul II had received last rights, I was both saddened and relieved. This man had suffered through numerous and chronic health problems in recent years, and had spent the past month with a tracheotomy tube in his throat. For a man of humble origins who had spent his life in service, his final years had certainly been hard ones.
But I was also concerned about a meetup I would be attending that evening: The Wild Witches of the West. When I first moved to Portland, I met a few locals who made no secret of their anger against Christianity in general and the Roman Catholic Church in particular, and for those individual pagans I don’t think that enmity was undeserved. While I hadn’t run into such vocal protests in this Westside group, I was still nervous that there might be some mean-spirited celebration afoot, and “Ding Dong the Pope is Dead” sung in a public place would easily offend those in genuine mourning, and wouldn’t exactly foster good will.
The evening went off without a hitch, fortunately, but I kept my laptop with me in order to keep tabs on the Pope’s condition. I am not, nor have I ever been, Catholic. However, there are millions of non-Catholic Christians across the globe who look to the Pope as the unofficial leader of their faith, not to mention the very powerful role the Vatican plays on the world stage. The passing of a Pope is a monumental event.
(On a side note, I felt like an idiot on Friday when I announced — to everyone at Coffee People, and then to my family via wireless phone — that the Pope had died. Then, of course, I had to take it back. So much for relying upon CNN.com for breaking news of global import. It was just like the 2000 and 2004 U.S. presidential elections all over again.)
Historically, Pope John Paul II was a very liberal and progressive church leader. Even though some of his directives made me want to tear my hair out, I respected his efforts to bring the Catholic Church at least out of the Dark Ages, if not actually into the twenty-first century. I also respected his honest desire to serve his faith and his world. I honor his passing and have said many blessings over his soul, at last free.
Now, of course, I turn my attention to the council of cardinals who will shortly begin the process of electing a new pontiff. Will the RCC choose a successor who will follow in John Paul II’s progressive footsteps, or will they follow the recent example of the United States, who in the wake of eight years of a liberal presidency decided to take about twenty-seven steps backward to twice elect a paranoid fundamentalist? As our world village continues to shrink, and as moral and spiritual matters (of many faiths) come increasingly to the forefront of our global challenges, the choice of Pope is no small matter.
Though I am not a Catholic, I bless those few who have this task now set before them, with sincere wishes that their choice may serve the higher good of us all.