Pope Benedict XVI

from Ben's mom



The last time a pope was elected, I was 8. And a member of an extended family that believed that the pope and the antichrist were the same thing. Needless to say, I remember nothing about the election. In my memory, Pope John Paul II was the only pope. While I was studying grade school history about the atrocities of the Crusades, the immorality of many popes, and the glories of the Reformation, I was becoming increasingly aware of two Catholics who were changing the world unlike any Protestants I knew: Mother Theresa and Pope John Paul II. I didn't know any real life Catholics until my early 20's and it was then that I met a friend who confirmed what I saw in the lives of these two figures: Catholics are just as much Christians as my committed Protestant friends.

And while I disagree theologically with several Roman Catholic doctrines, I applaud today the continuance of the Church in the world. And congratulate my Catholic brothers and sisters on their new pope. I am relieved that he is doctrinally conservative, and has the guts to tell U.S. cardinals that they are not to serve Eucharist to those who justify a dichotomy between their personal and professional lives. Specifically, he has specified that communion be denied to John Kerry and Gray Davis, politicians who have maintained that they are Catholic, while denying the rights of the unborn to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And so while remembering the legacy of the last pope, I wish Pope Benedict XVI God's blessing as he seeks to make a difference in the 21st century.

More on Pope John Paul II:

I have a very strange feeling of loss. I almost feel as though one of my family members has gone," evangelist Billy Graham said on the passing of Pope John Paul II. He also issued the following statement about the man who once invited him to preach from his pulpit in Krakow, a huge ecumenical step that spoke volumes about the evangelical nature of the last pope:

"Pope John Paul II was unquestionably the most influential voice for morality and peace in the world during the last 100 years. His extraordinary gifts, his strong Catholic faith, and his experience of human tyranny and suffering in his native Poland all shaped him, and yet he was respected by men and women from every conceivable background across the world. He was truly one of those rare individuals whose legacy will endure long after he has gone.

"It was my privilege to meet with him at the Vatican on various occasions, and I will always remember his personal warmth to me and his deep interest in our ministry. In his own way, he saw himself as an evangelist, traveling far more than any other Pope to rally the faithful and call non-believers to commitment. He was convinced that the complex problems of our world are ultimately moral and spiritual in nature, and only Christ can set us free from the shackles of sin and greed and violence. His courage and perseverance in the face of advancing age and illness were an inspiration to millions - including me.

"I have been invited to attend the funeral service for Pope John Paul II, but I will not be able to go for health reasons. I have asked a member of my family and one of my long-time associates to represent me at that service. "May his death remind each of us that some day we too must die and enter into God's presence – and may we each commit ourselves afresh to Jesus Christ, who died and rose again for our salvation."