Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Bob Stannard, a lobbyist and author. This piece first appeared in the Bennington Banner.
Six seconds doesn’t seem all that long unless perhaps someone has you in a wrist lock. Then those six seconds can take quite a while to pass.
The same can be said for six minutes. Six minutes goes by rather quickly if you’re on the beach, but if you’re in a dentist’s chair, with no novocain those six minutes can feel like an eternity.
Six hundred years, though, to most of us is an eternity; many eternities to be exact, which is why the announcement of a few days ago was such a milestone. On Monday, Feb. 11, 2013, the pope announced to the world that he would be resigning. Inasmuch as a pope has not resigned in over 600 years presumably most people had no idea that a pope could resign. For 600 years popes have died while holding the highest office of the Catholic faith.
People were asking, “Why resign? Just live out your days as others before you have done for six centuries. You have plenty of people below you who can do the work. Why put the religion through this?”
This is not an unfair question. All popes, and for that matter all people, get old and die. It’s what we do. Most people retire from whatever is they’ve done after 30 years or so. OK, so our new American life now requires that not only you, but your spouse both work for closer to 40 years, or maybe even longer as it seems that no one can really afford to retire today.
Popes are different. It’s not really a job, although they are charged with heavy responsibilities. It’s a position. According to www.thepapalvisit.org The Catholic Church is the biggest Christian denomination, with a billion members worldwide. Our leader is called affectionately “the Pope,” which means “Father.” We call the Pope “Father”, just as Catholics call their priest “Father,” because the Pope represents God as our Father, who loves us, who made us, and who sent his Son to die on the cross for us. The Pope represents God our Father in a special way, because like a good parent he guards the truth of the revelation which Jesus Christ handed on to his apostles (followers), the chief of whom was Simon whom Jesus called in his own language Cephas, meaning “Rock”. We believe that the present Pope is the successor of Peter, the Fisherman.”
So the question becomes does a good father cease being a good father simply because he has grown old? Or does a good pope resign for other reasons?
So the question becomes does a good father cease being a good father simply because he has grown old? Or does a good pope resign for other reasons? In today’s world information travels fast; sometimes outpacing the facts making it difficult to determine what is truly happening. Rumours have been circulating implying that the pope may be stepping down as a result of the numerous child sex scandals that have plagued the Catholic Church in recent years.
The following is an excerpt from the Christian Post: A possible source for the rumor of an arrest warrant and clandestine meeting over immunity regarding the priest abuse scandal was a statement by an anonymous Vatican City official. The unnamed source told Reuters that one of the reasons Pope Benedict XVI will be living in Vatican after his retirement would be to protect him from frivolous harassment, legal or otherwise.
‘His continued presence in the Vatican is necessary, otherwise he might be defenseless. He wouldn’t have his immunity, his prerogatives, his security, if he is anywhere else,’ said the anonymous source.”
The pope deciding to resign instead of living out his days in his position, as is customary, has done little to assuage those who have reservations about the Catholic Church, as some have serious reservations about any large, controlling religious group. Some people don’t agree with the Islamic religion or North Korea’s Juche ideology, but that’s what separates America from the rest of the world.
In our country we believe that people are allowed to worship as they wish and that our government is not allowed to pass laws injurious to any religion. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. If your religion covers up child abuse scandals and you’re OK with that then that’s your business. If the leader of your religion breaks a 600-year tradition that’s his business. Those who don’t practice the religion don’t particularly care either way.
What does matter, however, is when one religion tries to dictate to others. Here in Vermont there is an initiative to allow individuals to make end-of-life choices. Some are saying that this initiative should not go forward, because it violates their religious beliefs. That’s fine. No one is saying that you have to do anything; just that any individual MAY choose to seek a doctor’s help to end their life on their own terms.
It seems a little hypocritical that a religion that has turned a blind eye and spent millions of dollars in legal defense over sexual scandals that have ruined many lives would feel compelled to dictate what others can or cannot do when faced with a terminal illness and the end of their days.
Disclaimer: In addition to being a resident of Manchester I am a lobbyist working to pass the end-of-life legislation.
