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The God Card
Jeff Jarvis takes a shot at what he says is the "religious fringe," criticizing conservative Christians and some Republican leaders for working together to criticize Democrats. The criticisim is aimed at the use of filibusters in congress to block conservative judicial nominees, among other things. Says Jeff: They're trying to play the God card. Only I think it's been played in this hand already. If he's annoyed at devout Christians now, he'll be pitching a fit within a week or two when the College of Cardinals chooses a new pope. For the first time in a decade or more, the billion-member Roman Catholic Church will have a leader whose voice isn't muted by illness and old age. Hundreds of millions of Catholics across the world - mostly in poor countries - could see their faith re-ignited at the sight of a new pope who can actually smile, wave and speak in a clear, unhalting voice. And count on that voice to talk about, and reiterate, many traditional and conservative Catholic teachings. There were broad ripple effects all throughout culture when Pope John Paul II took over in 1978. Don't be surprised if it happens again over the course of the next few weeks and months. Depending on who cardinals choose as the next pope, the "God card" could be everywhere - yes, even in popular American culture. Right now it's pretty easy to pick on a few Republican and religious boogeymen. For social liberals, it's low-hanging fruit. That could be about to change pretty drastically. MORE: James Joyner thinks it's a bad move for Republicans to position themselves with people who accuse Democrats of "defying Jesus." If American politics could be covered by a bubble and separated from other cultural issues and world events, that would make complete sense. But in two weeks, all this discussion could very well be forgotten as other events take center stage. By Ed Moltzen · 15 April 2005
On Faith And Admiration
Matthew Yglesias writes a piece that, at first glance, looks like a tough, hard-minded shot at Pope John Paul II and the Catholic Church, but winds up falling pretty short:
Far from being "biting," the criticism he highlights is a) a bit of a reach b) old news and hardly edgy and c) an example of anti-Catholic bigotry. From the snippet to which to which Yglesias refers in the Ireland Times, the writer compares Pope John Paul II to Stalin. That sounds pretty serious, until you realize that Stalin had a brutal army and killed millions of people, and Pope John Paul II had Swiss guards and killed nobody. Yglesias also links to this Guardian piece by Terry Eagleton, which accuses Pope John Paul II of having "blood on his hands." Why? Well, Eagleton makes the reader wade through three-quarters of his rant before he gets to his point: the pope preached against the use of condoms. (The pope would not alter Church teaching, which holds that Catholics must practice abstinence outside of marriage, fidelity during marriage and adopt prayerful lives.) In his post, Yglesias suggests that not comparing Pope John Paul II to a genocidal Communist dictator is tantamount to treating him with "kid gloves." Writes Yglesias:
The point he and others seem to be making is simply that Pope John Paul II did not stray from church teaching on the sacredness of marriage and procreation, nor was the pope convinced to change his mind by people who took opposing views. And because of that, they suggest, the pope wasn't a good man. It's an opinion to which they're entitled. But it just plain ignores the fact that Catholic leaders rely on faith, not force, not focus groups, and, at the time of his death, the pope led a world community of 1.1 billion faithful. Pope John Paul II relied on faith, not force, not focus groups, to preach the importance of standing up for freedom to the oppressed masses behind the Iron Curtain. Those facts and numbers may not win the admiration of Yglesias and those who are like-minded. But it makes one wonder what they do admire. By Ed Moltzen · 5 April 2005
"...death gives way to
"...death gives way to life, a life that dies no more...We shall shortly sing that Christ 'by dying destroyed our death, by rising restored our life'. This is the truth that we proclaim with our words, but above all with our lives. " - April 14, 2001. 1920-2005 By Ed Moltzen · 2 April 2005
Covering The Coverage
Amy Langfield is having a field day with media reporting on Pope John Paul II's health problems. By Ed Moltzen · 1 April 2005
The Pope And Life
Andrew Sullivan posed these questions in February:
Of course, the best answer comes from Pope John Paul II himself. This is from a homily he delivered on Feb. 2, 1997:
The struggle being played out today is one man's desire to hold on to what he believes is a sacred gift: the gift of life. When the time comes, he'll embrace the next gift. But Pope John Paul II believes that it's not for him to say when that is. By Ed Moltzen · 1 April 2005
The Pope's Health
AP is reporting that Apcom, an Italian news agency, has news of Pope John Paul II's condition worsening:
This is worth watching very closely. The news reports have looked worse and worse for the pope, even with the Vatican working to put the best spin possible on his health situation. The death of Pope John Paul II will have a profound effect on a discussion of church teaching, as the College of Cardinals chooses a replacement who will be measured against his predecessor's deeply conservative leadership. The selection of a new pope could be the equivalent of a constitutional convention for the Roman Catholic Church - everything could be on the table, theoretically: women priests, gay marriage, birth control, the culture of life. But those big-ticket items aren't likely to change, even though there will likely be a lot of speculation about where a new pope stands on those issues. Pope John Paul II has selected almost every single one of the cardinals who will vote for his successor. What would not be in dispute is that, no matter who a new pope would be, the church's billion-plus Catholics would - for the first time in years - have a leader without physical disabilities limiting his public voice. Expect this story will not fade away, even if Apcom is incorrect today. By Ed Moltzen · 31 March 2005
Choosing A New Pope
The official news from the Vatican press office (translated by Bable Fish), says this of Pope John Paul II's condition overnight in the hospital: "During the night the Saint Padre has rested for some hours." It describes the pope as being in stable condition. But his apparent close call last night might make some Catholics wonder: After him, who? Who will succeed the only pope more than half the living world has ever known?
Some other assumptions can be made (keeping in mind why it's dangerous to assume): - The cardinals would not want to elect an elderly pope. Look for someone under the age of 70. - The cardinals would not want to elect a pope who is too young, given that it's a lifetime position and given that Pope John Paul II - elected when he was in his 50s - has served for more than 25 years. Cardinals may think a term of that length is too much. Look for someone older than 60. - Forget an American pope. Not gonna happen, not in our lifetime. However, Pope John Paul II, while Polish, had tremendous appeal to Americans when he was elected. He was chosen as an anti-communist, vigorous and youthful. A cardinal with American appeal could have an advantage in gaining support of cardinals concerned about further alienation of Catholics in the U.S. - Catholics waiting for a new pope who will alter church doctrine on sex and procreation will probably be out of luck. Since Pope John Paul II selected almost all of the cardinals, it would be shocking if a reformer were elevated. Look for a cardinal who is a traditionalist. - The Church was rightly criticized for its poor diplomatic decisions during World War II, while Pope John Paul II was regarded as a courageous defender of freedom at the end of the Cold War. Cardinals may have learned from history, and may very well look for proven diplomatic skills in choosing their next leader. So, with those issues in mind, here's a look at some potential candidates for the papacy:
Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Austria. Cardinal Norberto Rivera-Carrera. Rivera-Carrera, a Mexican, is among the most outspoken, pro-life clerics in the West. Mexico is almost 90 percent Catholic, but Rivera-Carerra may not have enough of a constituency in the College of Cardinals to even come close.
For a while, Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger have been viewed as favorites to become the next pope. However, Arinze is 72 And Ratzinger is 77 - which may be just too old for many in the College of Cardinals to consider when weighed against the other contenders. After all, since the pope is reportedly doing much better today than yesterday, Arinze and Ratzinger may very well be retired before the College of Cardinals gets to vote. By Ed Moltzen · 2 February 2005
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