{"id":2415,"date":"2008-04-17T21:32:00","date_gmt":"2008-04-17T21:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2008\/04\/who-cares-about-the-pope.html"},"modified":"2008-04-17T21:32:00","modified_gmt":"2008-04-17T21:32:00","slug":"who-cares-about-the-pope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2008\/04\/who-cares-about-the-pope.html","title":{"rendered":"Who cares about the pope?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> That’s the question posed by Fr. James Martin at the continuing blog, A Papal Discussion<\/a>, over at the New York Times, and he’s got some compelling answers<\/a>: <\/p>\n

Most Catholics, even those who may disagree with some of the pope\u2019s statements, have an inherent understanding of his role as the \u201cVicar of Christ,\u201d that is, Christ\u2019s representative on earth. And even Catholics with the barest understanding of their faith have, as well, a deep appreciation for the tradition that holds that Joseph Alois Ratzinger, in his role as Supreme Pontiff, continues an unbroken line that stretches back to St. Peter. Of course neither Jesus nor any of the other apostles would have considered Peter a \u201cbishop,\u201d much less a \u201cpope.\u201d Still, what theologians call the \u201capostolic succession\u201d is the central element of the mystique and charisma that instantly inheres in anyone who steps into the \u201cshoes of the fisherman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even the most hardboiled Catholic often confesses to feeling a sense of awe, and the weight of tradition, when in the presence of the pope. He\u2019s not divine, and he\u2019s not a saint, but the pope represents in a profound way a 2,000-year history of church leadership that began when Jesus asked a poor fisherman named Peter to lead his fledgling community.<\/p>\n

To that end, a story. Last night an old friend called. I\u2019ll disguise his identity, but I can say that he works with a large Catholic-run organization, and was unexpectedly offered some last-minute tickets to one of the papal events in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

My friend is a gay man who has, for some time, sought to find a welcoming parish in his town, and, more broadly, a place in his church. (Many gay and lesbian Catholics say that they often find their church a hostile place.) My friend is hardly the pious type, certainly on the liberal end of the theological spectrum, and generally a bit cynical about the church hierarchy. He had not sought out the tickets to the papal event; in fact, he thought that meeting the pope at all would be something of an inconvenience.<\/p>\n

Last night, he left a breathless message on my voicemail. \u201cCall me right back!\u201d<\/p>\n

When I reached him, he blurted out, \u201cI shook the pope\u2019s hand today!\u201d My friend explained that during one of the papal events yesterday, he found himself by coincidence \u2014 or providence \u2014 very close to Pope Benedict. As the pope circulated through a crowd of people, he drew nearer, and gradually within arm\u2019s length of my friend. \u201cI thought I might reach my hand out.\u201d When he did so, the pope seemed at first to overlook him.<\/p>\n

Suddenly the pope turned around and looked my friend full in the face. \u201cHe smiled at me and grabbed my hand,\u201d said my friend, with some emotion.<\/p>\n

I asked what he was feeling at the moment, and now. Now remember, this is a gay man who has been disenchanted with his church, and not given to high-flown pieties. \u201cWhen he looked at me, it felt like I was part of the church,\u201d he said. \u201cLike we are all part of the church, and that we all are important, no matter who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

To me, it was a striking moment of grace.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read on<\/a> for much more…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That’s the question posed by Fr. James Martin at the continuing blog, A Papal Discussion, over at the New York Times, and he’s got some compelling answers: Most Catholics, even those who may disagree with some of the pope\u2019s statements, have an inherent understanding of his role as the \u201cVicar of Christ,\u201d that is, Christ\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-people-in-the-pews","category-the-pope-and-bishops"],"yoast_head":"\nWho cares about the pope? - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2008\/04\/who-cares-about-the-pope.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Who cares about the pope? - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"That’s the question posed by Fr. James Martin at the continuing blog, A Papal Discussion, over at the New York Times, and he’s got some compelling answers: Most Catholics, even those who may disagree with some of the pope\u2019s statements, have an inherent understanding of his role as the \u201cVicar of Christ,\u201d that is, Christ\u2019s…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2008\/04\/who-cares-about-the-pope.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-04-17T21:32:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_0DySLTT4PWo\/SAf7u5Mg9OI\/AAAAAAAACRs\/CPeNmHRSTX0\/s400\/image4023867.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"deacon greg kandra\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Who cares about the pope? - The Deacon's Bench","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2008\/04\/who-cares-about-the-pope.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Who cares about the pope? - The Deacon's Bench","og_description":"That’s the question posed by Fr. James Martin at the continuing blog, A Papal Discussion, over at the New York Times, and he’s got some compelling answers: Most Catholics, even those who may disagree with some of the pope\u2019s statements, have an inherent understanding of his role as the \u201cVicar of Christ,\u201d that is, Christ\u2019s…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2008\/04\/who-cares-about-the-pope.html","og_site_name":"The Deacon's Bench","article_published_time":"2008-04-17T21:32:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_0DySLTT4PWo\/SAf7u5Mg9OI\/AAAAAAAACRs\/CPeNmHRSTX0\/s400\/image4023867.jpg"}],"author":"deacon greg kandra","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2008\/04\/who-cares-about-the-pope.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2008\/04\/who-cares-about-the-pope.html","name":"Who cares about the pope? 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