On the Next Pope

 As most may have heard, the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, died on the Monday after Easter (which always occurs on a Sunday.)  I have reserved commenting on Francis because a.) I am not Roman Catholic, though we Lutherans like to call ourselves Evangelical Catholics, and b.) because I needed time to assess my feelings.  But Alicia Colon has pretty well summed up what I think about Pope Francis in her essay at the American Thinker today entitled What This Congenital Catholic Thinks About Pope Francis and the Papacy. She also writes briefly of her hopes for the next Pope. (Sigh) Since they are bound and determined to elect another Pope, I think her hopes are well meaning. But I don't really believe that the Pope has supremacy over other bishops, nor should he rule a physical state. After all, Jesus said his kingdom was not of this world.

Now, I will take exception here to the papacy as having supremacy over all the other bishops of the church. There is no historical support for the Bishop of Rome being somehow more in touch with the Holy Spirit than other bishops, or indeed of congregations of the Church. But I recognize that the Roman Catholic Church will elect another Pope, so we can only hope that the next Pope understands what his duties are.

I, myself, do not believe that Pope Francis was an evil man, nor do I feel that he is suffering in Hell as some of the nasty commentators posted on various blogs.

I believe he was a very compassionate man who cared deeply for the disenfranchised and those people who are considered unworthy sinners by judgmental critics. He has been quoted as saying, “Who am I to judge?” when confronted by reporters after advocating that gay and lesbian couples be allowed to have their own families, allowed priests to bless gay couples, and cleared the way for transgender Catholics to be baptized and even serve as godparents.

No wonder he is beloved by the progressive community.

Unfortunately, like so many liberals, the pope forgot that as the Vicar of Christ, he is required to judge and to remember what Jesus Christ said to the sinners he embraced, “Go, and sin no more.”

It is not that the church rejects gays or lesbians, or even so called "transgender" people. Rather, such people too often reject the church and Jesus Christ because the church demands that they stop behaving as they desire to do. Here I do not merely mean the Roman church, but all the churches demand that people stop behaving in ways contrary to the teachings of God. That is the law, which convicts, but the here comes the Gospel, that says we must forgive repentant sinners as many times as they truly repent.

Colon gives Pope Francis wide room here by calling him naive. He may have been, but there are surely elements in the church, all churches, that are trying to destroy it. The fact that it can not be destroyed is no excuse for letting these elements stay in place. These Satanic elements have not just infiltrated the Roman church but many of the mainline Protestant churches as well. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a good example. But even there, one can find congregations where the Gospel is being preached, and so it is with the Roman church. I attended a service with my granddaughter at her Roman Catholic congregation in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the place was filled to standing room only, with families and children of all ages. Such are places where the Gospel is preached, and the sacraments are given.  Praise be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

I have other issues with the Roman church, which seems to be run by the clergy for the clergy, among which I include the various religious orders. Individual congregations do not call someone to serve as their pastor, but rather the bishops assign pastors to congregations. During the mass, the congregation sits passively and watches most of the action at the alter though there are some parts where they take an active role. In contrast, in the Lutheran liturgy the congregation takes an active role in every part of the Divine Service.

As the papal conclave is assembled to pick the next pope, many on the left are afraid that the next pontiff will be super-conservative. I am just hoping that our next pope will be a man who is a true vicar to guide the Church in His name.

As much as I may have disagreed with Pope Francis’s advocacy for change in the Church, he did once perform a very significant and positive action that magnified the most important tenet of the Church -- the Divine presence in the Eucharist.

Here I stand with Alicia Colon. I too hope that the next Pope will guide the church in His name. Enough with the nonsense. And perhaps Francis's devotion to the Presence of Christ in the elements of the Eucharist should not be overlooked. We Lutherans also confess that the bread and the wine are the true Body and Blood of our Savior Jesus Christ. It is not just a symbol or a memorial meal, but He is present with us in the Divine Service. For the record, though the church excommunicated Martin Luther, Luther did not reject the church and remained a faithful catholic. But this is about the next Pope.

All I can say is I pray with Colon that they elect someone who truly speaks for Christ