Tuesday, April 26, 2005

The New Pope and the Press

I find it an interesting commentary that the media entirely misses the importance of the election of the Pope. This is not political; it is a religious event. The Pope isn’t elected to bring divergent sectors of the Catholic Church together. He isn’t elected to please one group or to punish another. His role is that of being the head of one of the oldest established institutions on the face of the earth, the Roman Catholic Church. He helps Catholics by being a shepherd over the beliefs of the Church.



It seems that the commentators and reporters want an election with the incumbent changes brought by the winner. They want to report that the Pope will be responsive to the demands and desires of society. Let us hope that he does not respond in such a way. He is the leader and specifically he is the person who is responsible to maintain and interpret God’s Word and the Gospels. He isn’t a Supreme Court Justice who must past a litmus test on one topic or another. Our belief is that by the power of the Holy Spirit, the cardinals elected the best person to take on the responsibility of being the figurehead and leader of the Church today.



The appropriate verse from scripture to consider the mission of the Pope which should be understood by the media is found in Matthew Chapter 26 verse 39 which states in part: “Yet not as I will, but as You will.” The Pope is charged with leading the Church and following God not the other way around.