Pope Leo XIV

[Doreen Peri]

I’m so glad that the new Pope is American! It’s wonderful. It’s never before happened. It gives me hope, despite the fact that I’m not Catholic. I watched a mass at the Sistine chapel when i couldn’t sleep one morning before he was elected. It was beautiful! Since then, I watched most of Leo XIV’s first mass. Oh my goodness, it was so inspiring!

There’s something about the history of it all, the deep connection to every era of history. I love the music, the costumes (sorry it’s like theater to me) and the connection it creates for me — it reminds me of the Greek Orthodox Church (my grandmother’s church, though there is no Pope). That was where I was once married and where both of my children were christened.

Though I’m no longer a religious person, I love the history of the Romans and Greeks, the spiritual feeling of it all, the otherworldliness of the symbolisms throughout a mass. It’s just gorgeous and somehow calms me. I don’t believe in the tenets of the Church. I don’t believe in a literal actual person or being or a trinity of actual literal beings (father, son, Holy Spirit) — however, I respect the symbolism of it all. It has such a profound far-reaching historic presence.

But mostly I want to say that I’m glad the new Pope is American because not only has it never happened before, but I do believe he is a good man and it is extremely special at this time in history to have a good man who comes from the USA having a strong and valuable presence on the world stage as a world leader. I’m so pleased about this! I hope his presence can inspire peace, honesty, compassion and love while presenting a stark contrasting example to the corruption we are currently witnessing.

[sasha]

Word on the street is that MAGA can't stand him. That's enough endorsement for me.

I was raised Catholic, but my personal spirituality diverged from the church's long ago. I have no reason to question the possibility that an itinerant preacher named Jesus ran afoul of an occupation army 2000+ yrs ago, and was executed for sedition - the more things change, etc etc. But I can't swallow all the mythologies that have sprung up about him since (most of the Gospels were written long after his death), any more than I can believe the wild yarns told about Pecos Bill or Paul Bunyan. I still feel a lingering fondness for its traditions, a residue not unlike what you might feel for an old friend you no longer have anything in common with. I guess I'd call myself a lovingly agnostic ex-Catholic.

That said, I'm pleased by the choice of Bob Prevost as the church's new pope. For one, I can spell & pronounce his name correctly - and Two, he's a degreed mathematician. But most of all, because he seems to be cast from Francis' mold - concerned more with the spirit of the law than its letter. I mean, who really gives a rat's ass just what criteria define Mortal Sin versus Venial? I hope that as Leo XIV, he continues to stress doing what is RIght, regardless of whether some encyclical drafted in 1327 declares it to be Sinful.

Early on in his reign, Francis declined the opulence of the Vatican digs for a modest apartment nearby; and chose to ride the bus to work rather than the Golden Limo his handlers thought would be more appropriate to his station. I always got a giggle imagining him in full Papal regalia climbing aboard a tired, farting city bus, clutching his miter in one hand and a brown paper bag with his lunch in another. I trust he would have found the image amusing, too. And I hope Leo continues showing us that in the end, the Pope is just another guy as fallible as the rest of us, but serious about promoting the holiness of simple, basic decency.

[Doreen Peri]

I think the myths of all religions have important symbolic meanings. I’m referring to Jesus himself as a myth. There’s no evidence he actually existed.,

That said, my connection with the Greek Orthodox Church in my younger days was important to me. I find some comfortable home-like feelings in the Catholic liturgy which is similar to the Orthodox liturgy.

I posted the original post above last night on Facebook and apparently some people have poor reading comprehension skills. I was accused of promoting the Catholic Church and being blind to the many wars fought in the name of the church, plus ignoring the fact that catholic priests have abused children….

Omg!!! How could I be promoting the Catholic Church when I even state I don’t believe in the “persons” of the trinity?

At any rate, a lot of conversation ensued and I got irritated enough to delete the entire thread this morning.

Writing is bound to be misinterpreted by some people on occasion. I realize that. But my post was focused on being hopeful that a Pope who is an American might be a great inspiration during a time when our government is so corrupt. I just can’t imagine misinterpreting that focus to be accused of supporting the Inquisition and child abuse by priests. lol

Whatever. I deleted it all.

Thanks for the conversation, Roy!

[sasha]

Yeah, written word & spoken word do seem optimized for different venues. I've written a few angry tracts here in a different "voice", which I think some may have misinterpreted as supporting the very views I'm ridiculing - whereas if I'd read them aloud, my delivery & body language should have made my opposition obvious. 'Way it goes, I guess.

I hope you're right about Leo serving as a kind of beacon during these next, long, four years. MAGA's pretty good at whipping up short-order conspiracies out of nothing, & their base is gullible enough to eat whatever they serve. He's got his work cut out for him, for sure.

[mnaz]

This may sound abrupt and harsh, but I have a hard time with Xtianity in general-- you gotta do this and that or else you're not "saved." What I CAN get behind are the words and deeds of Jesus as told in the N.T. As for the Catholic Church, its built-up power structure has invited abuse through the centuries, ever since Constantine politicized it and made it an "official" religion. I admire the beauty of some of its structures and traditions, but I can't take it much farther than that. Like Burt said in Smokey and the Bandit, "I'm too pooped to pop," er, I mean, "pope." (Yes, lofty literary reference I know.)

[Steve Plonk]

Great choice for the pope... Steve Plonk