Fresh Start With New Pope

April 20, 2005

“We have a new Pope!” That was the proclamation splashed across the television screen as Fox News covered the white puff of smoke emanating from the papal smokestack. Although I'm not Catholic, I share the sentiment. We do, indeed, have a new pope. Although he is the spiritual leader of the Catholics, the pope has come to symbolize so much more.

 

But not to everyone.

 

No sooner had we mentioned the news of the naming of Benedict XVI as the new pope than the detractors began calling my talk show. They were in the minority, mind you, but a vocal minority. They began lecturing me on how I couldn't be a good Christian and admire the Pope simultaneously. Look, the pope may not be my cup of tea but I certainly can respect someone for how they lead their life. It's also rather difficult to simply ignore the leader of 1.1 billion people.

 

One caller claimed that those who fled to this country before it was even a country were attempting to escape the tyranny of the pope. I hate to burst his bubble but those who fled to escape religious persecution were running away from the Church of England. The C of E had broken with Rome when the pope refused to annul the marriage of King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. This misplaced animosity for the Catholic Church is a curiosity to me, having grown up with absolutely no prejudice toward Catholics. Apparently, either out of ignorance or fear, some Protestants continue to cling to this outmoded disdain for Catholics.

 

This same caller who blamed the Seventeenth Century popes for political persecution admitted that our closest ally today is England, a country determined to prevent the formation of the United States just a little over 200 years ago. Remember, we were at war with Japan some 60 years ago and now count them among our strongest allies. Regimes change. Times change. Unfortunately, some people refuse to change. The hatred and resentment on display in the name of religion is analogous to the famously feuding Hatfields and McCoys. Generations after the first altercation, family members from each side were still fighting each other – and sometimes killing each other – and they had no idea why.

 

The fact is, Pope John Paul II did a great deal in his 26 years as head of the Catholic Church to not only bring people together but to help all of us, Catholics and non-Catholics alike. He was one-third of that triumphant triumvirate - along with Ronald Reagan and Maggie Thatcher - that destroyed one of the most sinister regimes in history, the Soviet Union.

 

When I think of Billy Graham, I don't think of merely a protestant preacher. I think of a man of God who became a symbol of goodness and hope for all of America and much of the world. Billy Graham, like the pope, transcends religious boundaries.

 

As Benedict XVI assumes the reigns of the papacy, it should be a time to look to the future, not rehash ancient quarrels. But talking points from the Catholic-bashers have already made their way into news reports. Pope Benedict is already being called “God's Pit Bull.” I prefer to think of him as the “German Shepherd” who will guide his faithful to a closer walk with God. No matter what your religion, what could be wrong with that?

 

Let's take the opportunity of a new pope to begin our personal relationships anew and unload the baggage of religious bigotry.

 

In the words of that great philosopher, Rodney King, “Can't we all just get along?”