Ding, Dong The Pope is Dead...

By the time most of you read this, Pope John Paul II will have left the planet.  As a recovering Catholic, my only concern involves whether or not the prophecy that there are only two popes left before Armaggedon is true; as a human being, my only concern is whether the planet that John Paul is leaving is worth saving from destruction. 

Much has and will be said about John Paul and his incredible magnetism and appeal and, as the tributes begin, much will be said about the hundreds of self-less and Godly acts committed by the Pope in the name of Catholicism.  He will be remembered and lionized as the man that ended communism and spent the better part of his papacy traveling the world in an effort to unite the over 1 billion members of the Catholic faith and to bring even more non-Catholics into the fold.

What will not be mentioned, however, is John Paul's continuing demonizing of homosexuality, which virtually rubber-stamped hatred towards and violence against gays and lesbians worldwide; his virtual obfuscation of the church sex scandal, which shook the faith of the faithful but caused no widespread reform in the church to address the issues of priests as predators and choir boys as their objects of lust; his continued rejection of contraception to curb exploding populations in the poorest countries on Earth, since it is the Catholics of those countries that form the foundation of the church's wealth; his less-than-forceful condemnation of the war in Iraq and its satanic instigator, George Walker Bush; nor his hands-on policy of dealing directly with oppressive regimes while doing nothing for the citizenry being oppressed. 

In many ways, John Paul shouldn't be remembered for those things - he was, very much like Ronald Reagan, a popular pontiff that will in all probability be remembered as the most popular of the many hundreds that have reigned over and governed the largest Christian denomination on Earth.  As a man, that popularity is understandable - but, as God's representative (and alleged mouthpiece) on this plain of existence, he fell far short of the teachings of the Christ and the spirit of God's love. 

The world's wealthiest entity - Vatican City - houses the papal government while hiding the entire history of mankind in its  bowels.  The things that we know about this history is that it does not follow the principles so ardently asribed to by John Paul.  It all paints a very different picture of the "creation" of man, the life of the Christ and the ultimate fate of our home world.  This information is kept hidden so that the people under papal control will remain devoted to the faith and thus support the massive corporation that is the Catholic Church.  If any of it were to be revealed, the masses would have no need for religion and, therefore, no need for the church.

Which is what, ultimately, needs to happen.  Christ stated that the only way to the Father was through Him - He didn't mention churches or synagogues or mosques or temples, and He certainly didn't prescribe clergymen as the intermediary for communication with the Almighty.  Apparently, God's word is meant to be edited.

I've never been able to reconcile the Church's tenets that call for love and compassion for all with the same church's blatant discrimination towards women and gays and lesbians.  The God of my understanding wants us to love one another support one another and help one another.  He, at no time, preaches hatred or discrimination.  God's word, you see, is contained in the Ten Commandments - which simply do not support the contention that gays and lesbians should be shunned and denied civil liberties, or that priests should be given a pass to abuse children or that the impoverished should be condemned to a life of starvation and disease and indignity so that the Church and other corporations can continue to operate without government interference or taxation. 

And that, you see, is what must be remembered about this pope.  He was an astute politician, much more so than a devout prelate.  He actively sought to drive a wedge between the divergent factions of the Catholic Church and to promote an image of moral and spiritual superiority over those of opposing viewpoints.  Having gained immense popularity because of his support of the Polish labor unions that eventually brought communism to its knees, he continued to rely on politics to advance the causes of the Church and allied and aligned himself and the Church with leaders and governments which human rights records and fostering of liberty and justice were at least as questionable as his own. 

I'm sorry that the Pope is dying - truly, I am.  His death heralds the final chapter of our collective histories, and signals - like Gideon's trumpets - the pounding hooves of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  But the fact remains that John Paul II was, like Jesus, merely a man - guilty of human foibles and human failings.  He was not perfect and he was not God.  If we agree with that, then we must agree that many of his proclomations were false, and that much of what passed for the word of God during his papacy was merely political posturing to maintain his control.

Rest well, John Paul...your work is, thank God, done....

Comments

[Mike Justice]

Who cares about the Pope. We wanna see pics of your jerking off and cumming on the camera lens.

You're a hot piece of man ass and that's all you're good for.