I'm finding the reporting of the Pope's visit to the United States to be very interesting, and a bit puzzling. Today's Portland Press Herald features a front-page story about the Pope praying at Ground Zero and leading mass at Yankee Stadium. On one hand, I think it's really good to see this level of enthusiasm for something of a spiritual nature. I mean, how often does a religious leader, other than the likes of Billy Graham, draw crowds enough to pack Yankee Stadium? (Well, I suppose Joel Osteen does it every week, but I'll save that for another post...) On the other hand, though, it seems to me there's something just a little off when it's a human being that draws all the attention, rather than the One whom we worship.A quote from today's article:
John Urban, 71, of Scranton, PA, left his home at 3:30 am and drove two and a half hours to arrive by 6 am.
He could only see the top of the pope mobile.
"It was enough," Urban said. "He's the head of our church. It's probably as close as I'm going to get to him, but that's fine."
Does this strike anyone else as a bit odd? Isn't Jesus Christ the head of the church?
I really don't mean offense to my Roman Catholic sisters and brothers. I have incredible respect for the rich tradition of the Catholic Church, and I think there are many, many things to celebrate about Roman Catholicism (as well as a few things to critique, such as their refusal to ordain women, which is also a topic for another post...). However, the whole mystique about the person of the Pope is one part I just don't get.
