In the Kurt Vonnegut novel
“God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater” the title character is asked to baptize a set of
twins. He is not necessarily
a religious man, much less a minister, but he agrees and at the baptismal
ceremony he sprinkles some water on the children and says:
“Hello babies. Welcome to
Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and
crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only
one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
Kindness is the preeminent
quality I want to see in a new Pope.
When I taught English
literature, one of the pieces I had students read was Geoffrey Chaucer’s
Prologue to the Canterbury Tales.
Chaucer had little patience for some of the Church practices of his day:
the selling of indulgences, the rich living of some Church leaders. Still, he admired someone in the Church
like the lowly Parson. Chaucer’s
Parson traveled in a wide parish, gave of himself, and tried to practice what
he preached. The lowly Parson had
a standard:
"If gold rusts, what hope is there for iron?"
For if a priest is bad, who we should trust
No wonder that the common man will rust.
Now here's an image should make a priest weep
A shit covered shepherd and a clean sheep;
For by his cleanliness a priest should give
To his sheep, a model of how to live.
"If gold rusts, what hope is there for iron?"
For if a priest is bad, who we should trust
No wonder that the common man will rust.
Now here's an image should make a priest weep
A shit covered shepherd and a clean sheep;
For by his cleanliness a priest should give
To his sheep, a model of how to live.
The Parson was a simple
man, and Chaucer’s take on this man of God was simple:
Nowhere on earth is there a priest more fine.
He looked for no great pomp or reverence,
Nor was his conscience primed to seek offence,
For he taught the law of Christ and his twelve
He taught, but first he followed it himself.
Nowhere on earth is there a priest more fine.
He looked for no great pomp or reverence,
Nor was his conscience primed to seek offence,
For he taught the law of Christ and his twelve
He taught, but first he followed it himself.
I want to see the Parson in
a new Pope.
The Church has numerous
problems. The abuse scandals in
the United States and elsewhere are still seen by many as unaddressed. The over one billion Catholics
increasingly see Rome as out of touch and distant, lost in its opulence and its
past.
Still, the Church does many
good things. Among the first to
provide relief services for Katrina was Catholic Social Services. Catholic Social Services was on
the frontline in the aftermath of 9/11.
Pope Benedict reaffirmed the historical social teachings of the Church numerous
times. He also called for the
recognition that worker groups and unions play a necessary and vital role in
the global economy.
The new Pope needs to
continue the social doctrine of the New Testament.
When Benedict resigned, I
jokingly said that I wanted to be the Pope. To be honest, I thought about it seriously when I was in the
seminary, knowing full well that my chances were nil. God, however, had other plans for me. I didn’t know it at the time, but I
guess He wanted me to get married, have a son and daughter, and teach English.
The new Pope, by his leadership
and example, has to help Catholics realize their own vocations. I think he has to help women resume the
same vital role they played in the early Church, even as ministers. He has to see that allowing them to be
married will only enhance the role of priests.
The
new Pope can still wear that cool hat and those red shoes. But, he must also remember that he is
filling the shoes of the fisherman.
