The Pope is a Man

Posted on April 12, 2005 in Crosstalk Journalists & Pundits Pontiff Watch

Owlish was amused by the reaction of the news media to the blogging of the Pope’s death. Unlike some kneejerks out there, Owlish gave me credit for not outright hating the Pope, which is more than I can say for some.

I suppose that I am one of those who Father David O’Connell blasted on CNN:

They were glad that the Pope was gone. It was said in just an ugly way. You know, people have a right to their opinions but its the incivility in the comments that really bothered me. Not only about the blogs relative to the Pope, but blogs in general. Just uncivil discourse. A lack of total intellectual civility.

Well, I must admit that I am glad that this era has passed. And given the Church’s practice of electing a Pontiff for life, I find myself in an awkward position. I can’t wait for a Pope’s ten, twenty year term to end. He keeps on being Pontiff until he dies. Which means if he’s made some bad decisions — as John Paul II did — I sound mean and nasty to some out there.

The point is no one in this world is above criticism. Throughout most of the papacy it was understood that the Pope was another human being, that he was fallible. Infallibility was a 19th century heresy, invented for the purposes of centralizing the power of the Catholic Church. Rather than make corporate decisions through Synod — a process which had worked for centuries before — one man made himself an ultimate ruler, a religious despot. It is true that subsequent popes have been very careful about making ex cathedra utterances, but the perception of many people within and without the Catholic Church is that the Pope is a Living Saint.

By my understanding of sainthood and my study of the lives of the saints, I do not see sufficient grounds for canonizing John Paul II. I have pointed to the ways that he failed the poor and let his hatred of communism get in the way of his reasoning. He supported armed violence in Central America and forwarded the cause of known Fascists while delaying those of true martyrs and saints such as Archbishop Romero and Dorothy Day.

I do not hate the man, however. If his successor proves to be as bad, I will remember that he is a fallible human being. I must do this because too many — like Father O’Connell — don’t get that the Pope is a man with a man’s brain, a man’s organs, and a man’s glands. We should not honor him just because he wears white. It is important to hear his words and, when he fails to live the example of Christ, challenge him.

The Church can best thrive by listening to its critics. John Paul II failed to do this in several regards.

Catholics have no mechanism for ousting a bad pope other than death. And I oppose assassination. So I reserve my right to evaluate the Holy See’s performance while he lives and reevaluate it when he dies.