Changes in the Catholic Church
Wednesday
February 13, 2013

Why is everyone so surprised that the Pope decided to resign his position as the leader of the Catholic Church? Putting aside the fact that this is the first time anything like this has happened in well over 400 years, in the overall scheme of things, isn't his decision to resign the very quality you want in a leader? Instead of choosing to continue in a position he was unable to adequately defend, he made the decision to step aside, giving someone else a chance who might be able to do a better job. According to his statement, he did so because he felt that this was what was in the best interests of the church, and at the end of the day, isn't this what you want? A leader who knows when it's time to step aside?

Even though I grew up in a number of Catholic group homes and foster homes, I'm not Catholic, but if I was, I'd certainly be applauding his decision to make way for someone else who might be better suited for the task at hand.

Perhaps what amazes me most about the whole thing isn't the fact that this is the first Pope in hundreds of years to resign, but the fact that everyone's speculating about what this means to the Catholic religion as a whole, and the system of beliefs that the church was founded upon. Everyone seems to think that the next Pope, and therefore the church might somehow have a slightly, or even radically, different stance on things like homosexuality, gay marriages and women in positions of leadership in the Catholic Church. Realistically speaking, my opinions and beliefs on the matters aren't important, nor are theirs. If you're a Catholic, which I'm not, you've chosen to be a Catholic because you believe in the teachings as described in the Catholic Bible, rules and regulations handed down by God himself, and not what some gay in a funny hat says. In my humble opinion, if the Word of God is to be believed, then who are we to change it, or to interpret it differently because the times have changed. I'm not a Catholic, but even I see what's wrong with this.

Please don't misunderstand what it is that I'm trying to say here. I'm not saying anything against homosexuality, gay marriage or women holding positions of leadership. I'm simply saying that, in the Catholic Church, your personal opinions and beliefs on these, or any other matters have no bearing on anything. As a Catholic, you're bound by the beliefs set forth in the Bible, regardless of your personal opinions on the issues involved. The Catholic religion isn't a democracy. We're not free to change the beliefs of the Bible just because we don't like them. If we have that much of a problem with what the church is teaching, our only option is to leave the church in search of a religion better suited to our personal beliefs. Of course, if you believe that there's only one true religion, and one true way, and that this is the Catholic way, then you just might be dooming yourself to eternal damnation by leaving the church. At the same time, however, you'd be doing the same thing if you chose to stay in the church and tried to change their system of beliefs.

Shawn L. Perrot CDCR# V-42461
CMC-Ease Cell# 6326
P.O. Box 8101
San Luis Obispo, CA 93409-8101