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Sunday, April 3 Farewell to the Pope
I will not pretend to understand how it might feel to be a religious Catholic today…mourning the loss of Pope John Paul 11. I did have something of an experience that may have given me some understanding when I lived amongst the Lubavitch Chasids and felt their adoration for their much beloved Rebbe; Rebbe Shneerson. Most of the Chasids I met, felt the Rebbe’s voice was an extension of the lord, that when he spoke he was being divinely inspired. When the Rebbe passed away, an entire slice of Judaism fell into complete despair, many are there still. So yes, I have seen something like this before, but as a person who has never followed any one religious leader, I can only imagine what this loss might feel like. I do feel sadness for the sadness of so many millions of people around the world right now. It was certainly not a good time to lose someone who offered inspiration. What I know about the pope was that he was a very different pope from the ones of the past, more of a walk amongst the people, not sit in his private chambers and await visitors kind of pope. He was also known to reach out to Jews and to Muslims and to non Catholic Christians and I credit him for this effort, for his constant efforts to reach across the many lines drawn by culture and by religion. He is also credited widely with aiding the collapse of communism and being a voice against war, both of which are legacies anyone would be proud of. But for so many members of the gay community around the world he was anything but a friend. He seemed at times, to go out of his way to condemn homosexuality, calling gay marriage an integral part of “a new ideology of evil” plaguing our world today. These views seemed out-dated and cruel especially in the midge of the fight for gay marriage in America. To all the people around the world who were and are HIV positive or who fought to stop the spread of HIV, his refusal to approve the use of condoms seemed held back in the ice age and more so, a complete denial of the countless lives that might be spared by the use of condoms and all the ones that had been lost to AIDS. How could a man who fought against war and the death penalty sentence so many to death by denying them condoms? But he held to his religious commitments citing condoms as birth control and calling birth control immoral. This is simply not based in today’s world; a world in which AIDS is decimating entire countries. As a feminist I could not condone the popes refusal to see women as equal in terms of the service they were allowed to perform in church and yes, I do know, that few religions allow for this kind of equality, religious Judaism amongst them. That’s the reason why I don’t go to an orthodox synagogue and why my brother and I argue. What I hope is that the many good things this pope has done will be remembered and cherished, his fight for humanitarian issues will be upheld and his efforts to reach out to other religions will be continued ever after. I hope too, that the new pope will look at the world today and try to bring the Vatican into this brave new frightening world, by understanding that condoms are not just birth control but are often the only barrier stopping a rampant and murderous disease. I do not expect the new pope to condone or embrace homosexuality, I know full well that would be asking too much but I do hope he will be at least a little more tolerant. I hope to that the new pope might find a way to elevate a woman’s position in the church, to understand that millions of women around the world might feel closer to the church if they were allowed to take a more active role in its services. But today, today…is a time for mourning. And even here, as far removed from the Vatican as a person can be…I do feel the sadness that so many are engulfed by. Today, I say I am sorry for your loss.
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