habemus papam
it’s official: we have a pope. on tuesday, april 19th, pope benedict xvi was elected as the new pontiff to head the 1.1 billion catholics of the world. his election drew mixed reactions from everyone: dismay from the liberal, cheers from the ultra-conservative and everything in between. many had said that his hardline stance on orthodoxy might drive people away from the church. i myself was rooting for austria’s cardinal schoenborn. i went “what?? ratzinger?? why??” (but i believe my professor in my german class is over the moon about it.) obviously, he is not the most popular candidate to succeed pope john paul ii. but i think it’s unfair that we immediately judge the pope when he still haven’t had the chance to show what kind of leader he is. being a trusted papal advisor is different from being a pope. as someone posted on the net, “a pope needs to be right first, than be popular first”, or something to that effect. give the man a break. he has a big burden on his shoulders: addressing sexual abuses by priests, dwindling number of catholics*, church finances, etc, etc, etc. and on top of all that, following in the footsteps of the great john paul. pretty daunting, that last one. so i’m praying. and i’m hoping that, like john paul the great, i hope he will be a pope who will bring people closer to God, and not away from Him.
*a word of caution: do not continue if you do not like faith-related matters
IMHO: (warning: you may not crucify cat for speaking out)
many people, disillusioned of the church and its teachings, have turned away from an institution they viewed as no longer relevant to the modern world. funny, following the church’s teachings and adhering to my faith has NEVER put me in trouble. never. on the contrary, i can survive daily challenges because of my faith in the Lord. i have a job that pays sufficiently, i’m healthy, i have a happy family (sort of), i do well in school, i have schatz, i have people who love and care for me..heck, even the morning fx taxi to work is a blessing! The Providence. i do what He says and He takes care of me. He will never fail you. this is why for me, the church and its teachings will always be an important part of my life. i’m not about to force people to go back to church…i’m just praying they go back to God. He is your friend. He listens and He answers all the time. make it a habit to talk to Him all the time…not only when you need a new job, when you want a new lover, when you need more moolah to buy a new gadget, when you desperately need to pass your final exams. God is waiting patiently for you. for all of us.
ps: dan brown needs to revise “angels and demons”. the camerlengo is NOT a low ranked priest; he is a cardinal…cardinal camerlengo. ^_^
pps: happy birthday to teta, chester, tanya, jerome and bonnie bryan!!
