Ok this ight be a stupid question, but i would like to know something of you. Over the years i have heard alot of statements that the pope made hat i'm not really happy with.( i'm an atheist, so i do not know what it is like to have a religious leader.) I was wondering how importent the thing the pope says are for catholics. Because he is the leader of the catholic faith. So how importent is the pope and his opinion to you all. thanks, i was interested(especially of Mad Max(are you catholic?))
Good question. As a Catholic I respect and revere the pope as he is the leader of the church. However, I (like many) am of the opinion that since he's just a man, and as such is fallible. There are some Catholics who believe that if the Pope says it, it must be true and must be the word of God himself. I don't believe so. As an aside, most Catholics feel that the church has gotten out of touch with everyday Catholics. They (the leaders of the church) sit in seats of power and are only ever in contact with others like them. As such they have no idea what difficulties face Catholics in all walks of life and tend to run the church the same as in decades and even centuries before. It gets kind of frustrating sometimes.
My mom, a devote Catholic all her life, takes the position that the "Pope is not the Church". That isn't what they say, however. You can see a lot of conservative Catholics who support Bush in his wars, when the Pope was clearly against them. Where's Twhy? I'm sure that he would say that you should wear a hairtshirt or some other self torture device to remind Catholics that the Pope's statements are to be followed.
Sorta like the President. I respect the position, wish him well in his endeavors, wince when he makes a decision that embarasses me, and feel good when he makes a decision that makes me proud. But he's human like anyone else and prone to mistakes and stupidity. However I think the church is stuck in the Stone Age, and hope the next Pope is a little more progressive. This guy isn't going to address the AIDS crisis anytime soon. Funny that my country's leader and my church's leader are both afraid of condoms.
i'm a Christian. i've visited many different churches from all different denominations and some which were non-denominational. i currently am a member of a presbyterian church, but i don't consider myself to be a presbyterian. thanks for the kind remarks.
Unlike my esteemed colleague, MadMax, I am Catholic. I have great appreciation for the Pope and for his knowledge of theology taught from the original disciples down to today's clergy. That being said, he is not God. He can state church doctrine and his words require some deference, but he is not the moral arbiter people make him out to be. I love Pope John Paul II and mourned his passing. There were times that I disagreed with him though.
