Il Papa

Song Lyric of the Day:

In violent times / You shouldn’t have to sell your soul / In black and white / They really really ought to know

Tears for Fears / “Shout”

9:43PM.
I am a lapsed Catholic. I realized at an early age that I didn’t like how the Catholic church viewed certain issues. I couldn’t understand why, in theory, I was supposed to forgive someone who hacked my family to itty bitty pieces, but I was supposed to shun someone for loving someone of the same sex. Didn’t make sense to me; still doesn’t, much like many other of the church’s teachings. But I digress.

Today, my good friend, Bob, called me at work today to express his condolences about Pope John Paul II’s passing on Saturday. While I may not have always agreed with what he said/decreed on behalf of the church, I did respect the Pope as the heart and soul of the Catholic church. He was the only Pope I knew for almost my entire life. I, like many, many other Catholics throughout the world, mourn his passing. His successor has very large shoes to fill, very high standards to meet, and every little human graciousness to visit upon others. Bob prefaced his condolences with “I know you’re Catholic, and I know you’re not the most devout Catholic, but I’m very sorry about the Pope’s passing. He was a good man and is in a better place now.” It almost brought tears to my eyes (would have if I hadn’t been at work) that Bob would think to do this. He helped me see that I am indeed in mourning, in my own way. And Bob is indeed right, that Pope John Paul II is at peace now after a lifetime of bringing joy and guidance to millions of us Catholics.

In perusing others’ thoughts on Pope John Paul II’s passing on MSNBC.com today, I found an entry I think helps sum up some of what I feel. Ironically enough, the entry was written by an atheist. And while, unlike the entry’s writer, I still believe in God, Jesus, Heaven, and Hell, I like what he has to say:

An atheist’s tribute to the good shepherd
I’m 60, a man who long ago stopped believing in God, the types of God fashioned by man, the type of God believed in by John Paul II. But, on this day of grief, April 3, 2005, I honor, in my own way the passing of this great man. Even an atheist must honor a man like John Paul II. This man, this pope, lived the ideals that he professed, the ideals of Christianity, and did so aggressively. No sitting in Rome for John Paul II. He traveled the world with relentlessness; he movingly kissed the soil of each new land arrived at. He reached out to the sick, the poor, the dispossessed. He lectured the rich and powerful. He was conservative in the finest sense of that word, even for me a liberal, for he loved sinners and forgave them even while setting, through his agenda, very strict standards. His conservatism never seemed ugly, punitive, unforgiving. What stunning leadership. He fought communism and I wonder if the full story of his leadership against that doctrine will ever be fully known? A son of Poland, perhaps her greatest, his life span had allowed him to see close up the evils of the 20th Century’s enslaving doctrines. He used that insight wisely and relentlessly. Across the globe, wherever he went, the faithful would gather to catch a glimpse of this man who spoke of a better world. And so, even non-believers like me mourn his passing. We join the ranks of those who will miss him. And we smile with appreciation knowing that stubborn and skeptical though we may be, John Paul viewed people like us with love, tolerance and above all faith. He, through the experience of his decades, knew that ultimately faith is so much stronger than doubt. He was and will remain the good shepherd. – Peter Twomey, Marshfield, MA