The Legacy

Save for the most extreme fundamentalist living deep within the Bible belt, most people who admired John Paul II have resigned themselves to the fact that he has died and moved on to his justly deserved reward of a place with the God he loved so very much. During the death watch many hoped for a miracle that would bring their beloved Pope back from the precipice. I think that the thought of his death was often misplaced by fear of what would become of the Catholic Church after his demise. After all he did so much for not only the Church, but for all mankind as well.

The church has been around for a long, long time. The oldest established Christian religion has undergone numerous and controversial changes since its inception over two thousand years ago. It has been besieged by scandal, not only in this decade and the last, but throughout its history. Many Catholics have never known another Pope nor would they be able to communicate the legacy of others in the past fifty years. But as we trust that Fort Knox holds sufficient quantities of gold to cover our greenbacks, so go the Catholics with trust that the Pope is protecting one's spiritual and moral needs.

While the mechanics of the pomp and circumstance of rituals may change, the basic tenets of belief will not. I can remember a time when I was away from the Church and upon returning discovered that the Mass had undergone a drastic change. I learned to adapt as we all did. But the position on pro-life, pro-poor, peace, and the definition of marriage and family values will remain the same. While I personally do not agree with all of the teachings, a majority of Catholics do. While the Catholic church has been beset with the scandals of sexual abuse, other religious and secular institutions have also undergone similar scrutiny. Yet, the church has continued on despite the fact that leadership has changed some 260+ times.

The fact is that a Pope will be a Pope, but someone who will serve all mankind, Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist notwithstanding, will serve best. This is what the people saw in John Paul.