About two weeks ago Fr. Faulker (Father Talks to Fast) asked his readers
what they wanted from the next pope. I thought this was a great question and wanted to 1.) post my answer to it here and 2.) pose the same question to you. I got to thinking about the two popes that I have known in my lifetime - Benedict XVI (B16) and John Paul II (JP2) and about some of the Holy Fathers before them that I've read about - John XXIII, Pius XII and Paul XI. So, speaking from what I've seen from past popes and where our society stands now here are some qualities I'd like to see in our next Supreme Pontiff.
Move - JPII revolutionized the role of the Pontifex in many ones but one of the most dramatic changes was to how the Shepherd of the Church
went to his flock. Before John Paul most of the popes lived and died in the Vatican. There was nothing wrong with that but many of them rarely left Rome or Italy, much less traveled the world to meet Catholics in their homelands. Benedict did a great job - esp considering he is in his 9th decade of life - at continuing the globe trotting life. But he is retiring because he can no long fulfill the duties of the Seat of Peter as they are meant to be fulfilled. I believe he feels this is a needed quality for the job and being that he can't travel anymore and no longer continue those duties of traveling to his people he will retire. Nevertheless, I'd like to see the new Pope continue to move!
Trustworthy - I'm not saying the past popes have been liers, untruthful or men not to trust but the international media always seem to think the worst. Perhaps the nature of media outlets will never truly take a Pope for his word but even with the announcement of his retirement writers, tv hosts and bloggers can't seem to believe he is retiring because he can't fulfill the papal duties anymore. They think it's because he is trying to avoid a scandal or hide something from his past. It may never fully happen but we need a pope who not only Catholics can trust but who media and the world can trust.
Motivational Speaker - I want a pope who can get me fired up. There have been some great speeches from past popes that really get me excited about being Catholic, about being a follower of Christ and about wanting to live a life worthy of Heaven. The one quote from a pope that really sticks out to me can from Papa Benny when he said, "The world promises you comfort. But you were not made for comfort, you were made for greatness!" Wow I love that. I still get pumped when I read that.
Defender of Justice - In college I took a class called Modern Catholic Thought. One of the books we read and discussed was called "
The Myth of Hitler's Pope" by Rabbi David Dalin. It was a fascinating book of how the entire world thought Pius XII was a coward for never standing up to Adolf Hitler during WWII. But the fact was, while he never came out with bold statements decrying the acts of Germany and Hitler, he was a defender of justice by rescuing and hiding thousands of jews during the war at his summer home, Castle Gandolfo. He used his actions to show that he defended justice and preserved life. I want a pope who will be a superhero for the Catholic Church, for Human Rights and for Christ himself!
Social Butterfly - While this is not a must, given the state of our society and the way the upcoming generations of the Church communicates, it will be very helpful to guide all Catholics. Now I'm not saying that the new pope will need to use linkedin, after all he won't be looking for a new job, but it would be nice to keep up the
twitter handle B16 started. The youth of today, who will be the leaders of tomorrow talk, text, walk, watch, listen and read all at the same time. So while he doesn't need 1,000,000,000 friends on Facebook it will be essential to reaching Generation Y and any after them. Oh and it would be cool to start on
instagram, I'd like to see some pics of the pope chillin' in his apartment under a cool filter.
The Church has had many great popes and saints and some not so great popes, but the leader of more than 1 billion people is a man, a flesh and blood, sinful man picked, after much PRAYER and deliberation, by other men, so that is to be expected. Therefore, we have to pray for the Bishop of Rome and the bridge-builder who will lead the Bride of Christ and all those who follow Christ. Now I ask you, what do you want from the next Pope of the Roman Catholic Church?
At praymorenovenas.com a novena will start tomorrow to pray for Pope Benedict XVI. I would encourage you, your friends and your mother to all sign up for this. (Click here)
