First off, I apologize to all Catholics in advance. If you're the slightest bit sensitive about your faith, bail out of this post now.
Anytime an 84-year old goes to the hospital, you never know if or when they're going to come home, if they come home at all. Pope John Paul II is not well. I'm not putting the guy on his deathbed, but let's be honest: some Catholics want the Pope to die.
Shock! Horror! Blasphemy! Hey, you were warned.
It's my thinking that everytime the Pope goes to the hospital, falls, postpones a public appearance, or sneezes, a large number of Catholics hold their breaths, hoping (and perhaps praying) that he doesn't pull through.
"How can you say, much less think such a terrible thing?"
For some Catholics, the Pope is like Big Brother, or worse, the All-Seeing Eye of God on Earth. Commit a sin? The Pope knows it, sees it, feels it. A few months ago, I heard one Catholic suggest that the Pope's frailty was a direct result of the world's problems. Like the Pope was an empath or something, bearing the brunt of all our sins. Hence, the Pope as Christ-figure. Hey, whatever keeps you in check, great. If the ASEOGOE dies, it's out of sight, out of mind. At least until the next Pope achieves beloved icon status. Which sounds silly, the Pope is the Pope. But for many people, Pope John Paul II is the only Pope they've ever known.
I knew a girl who went through a promiscuous phase after her mother died. Her friend dismissed the notion that it was a by-product of grief: "The guilt is gone. Even if she believes her mother is watching her from above, she'll never have to face her again. For anything." Knowing the girl before and after her mother passed, I had to agree with her friend. There was no one making her accountable anymore, so she let loose. Would some Catholics loosen their values if the Pope died? Subconsciously, perhaps.
Over time, society's morals and standards loosen up. We become more tolerant, either naturally, through personal experiences, or through public policies which try, mainly in earnest, to reflect what a society is willing to accept. Some Catholics feel that the Pope, and the Church, are behind the times. To those people, the Pope's death would signal the end of an regime that overstayed its welcome, and hopefully dawn a new era of reform and more tolerance. It's doubtful that the new Pope would be so progressive, but alas, amongst faith, hope and charity, the greatest of these is hope.
There's a whole other section of Catholics actively rooting for the Pope's demise. Those who were forced to endure years of abuse by priests, and in some cases, nuns. I can't begin to imagine the extent to which a victim's faith is shattered by such abuses. Under the circumstances, I couldn't blame them at all for shunning Catholicism, much less hoping for the death of the man on whose watch the abuses took place.
Many people wanted Donald Rumsfeld to step down once allegations of abuse at the Abu-Ghraib prison surfaced. Even though Rumsfeld himself did not take part in the abuse (whether he ordered or authorized anything is a different matter), many felt his head should have rolled. Some family members of fallen soldiers probably pray for the death of both Rumsfeld and Bush. It's a base but very common human reaction to wish ill will on those you feel responsible for your pain. Rumsfeld remains as defense secretary. Popes just don't resign. They just don't. But they do die. While you can't condone it, perhaps you can understand why a victim of abuse, especially if their attackers are still practicing, would demand such an extreme form of justice. It would provide small, shallow, very temporary comfort. But for some, the effect of the Pope's death would be cathartic.
For the record, I'm not Catholic. I don't want the Pope to die. I'm not going to say one side is right or wrong for exercising their faith or questioning it. But I am putting it out there: if and when the Pope dies, don't be surprised to hear the unspeakable uttered from Catholic lips. I've been careful in this post to describe these people as "some Catholics". I truly believe that for every shaken or shattered faith, there are a hundred Catholics for whom such crises, if you want to call them that, have actually strengthened their faith. If you can't curse God, then curse His human associates. The Pope is only human. And humans, regardless of faith, are most cruel to other humans.
Comments