Salvation Show

         As I followed the many news reports covering the selection and investiture of the new pope, I marveled at the hordes of people, both Roman Catholic and otherwise, who followed a selection process with the same intensity you would expect if they were following their own spiritual destinies.  I also could not help but be reminded of the parallels between modern history and ancient history: comparing the crowds greeting and acknowledging Pope Francis with New Testament narratives of Jesus Christ being hailed and enthusiastically greeted with a parade of palms and with much rejoicing as he entered Jerusalem, only to be turned against, vilified, and crucified a few short days later.  Christ was hailed as a new spiritual leader, and then his fickle followers found themselves disappointed, so disappointed that their cheers turned into jeers.

          By the way, if at the outset you think that this posting might a simple and easy castigation of the pope, you will be mistaken.

That the pope leads one of the most powerful, one of the richest, organizations in existence today is certainly no secret.   Political leaders meet with him and give him his due respect as such a leader.  The Roman Catholic Church commands of billions of dollars and millions of people, and the Pope is the Supreme Authority of the Roman Catholic Church.  I have no problems with the acknowledgement of such power.  I may take issue with the way the billions of dollars are invested and with certain policies, but that belongs in a different posting.

History tells us there have been good popes and bad popes; I do not know why people have problems with that.  There have been good queens and kings, and there have been bad kings and queens.  There have been good emperors, and there have been bad emperors.  There have been good presidents and bad presidents.   Yes, the Catholic Church has made bad decisions, terrible decisions, which have affected millions one way or another.  So have various nations throughout history.   

Through the centuries, the pope has remained a source of holy awe by Roman Catholics.  Respect is both understood and understandable.  “Holy awe,” as evidenced by the recent videos, photographs, and reports, is quite another subject.  Surely, in this day and age, we are all cognizant of what it takes to be a powerful leader of a powerful organization with powerful dollars behind it.  I do not quibble about the basic business knowledge and acumen needed to lead.  I do wonder though how “holiness” can exist in the same job category that contains the words “power” and “money.”

          The pope is considered “infallible” by his followers.  The doctrine of papal infallibility states that when the pope teaches ex cathedra (“from the chair”) his teachings are perfect, incontrovertible, and omniscient. Such infallible papal decrees must be made by the pope, in his role as leader of the whole Church, and they must be definitive decisions on matters of faith and morals which are binding on the whole Church.  The doctrine was defined at the First Vatican Council in 1870, although it existed long before 1870.  What if the pope, in his ex cathedra role, declared that half of the Vatican’s wealth should be distributed to the needy and hungry?  I wonder if the various Vatican counsels would still follow his orders as they are pledged to.  I wonder how long he would remain pope after such a declaration.

The issue of infallibility of one person it seems to me is grounded in arrogance and vanity, an arrogance in which one equates oneself with God, and hence equates with pride which is one of the Seven Deadly Sins.  Over and above any interpretation of sin, in an era where we are all too familiar with the frailties of human nature, how can such a proclaimed attribute be taken seriously?

By the way, I do not lay any blame upon new Pope Francis personally for this double crown of thorns of infallibility and holiness.  These are responsibilities contained in the job description, and, let us be honest, it cannot be a job that very many people want.

However, what is more disconcerting are the people who need to believe in that infallibility, who need to believe in that absolute holiness, in that one man's absolute perfection.  They need their leader to be perfect so they can cling to an ideal of a certain type of faith, actually the same type of blind faith contained in that mob that turned against Christ within a matter of days.

What about those droves who look upon the pope, or look upon any leader or teacher, as the perfect avatar of wisdom and spirituality?  We are not talking about the simple need to be lead; we are talking about that need to be lead by one who is thought of as perfect, who will give without fail the most profound and perfect advice.   

We look for answers to life’s most profound questions, and we want those offering up answers to proclaim their words with final authority.  We demand guarantees.  We demand that they possess that impossible quality of infallibility.  When you think about it, the pope is really only giving people what they want.

However, when we discover that the true answers in life must be discovered within ourselves, that no one individual outside of ourselves has the perfect answer, that those perfect answers can only come about when we dwell, meditate or pray, we become disillusioned.   When we realize that we have to “do the work” ourselves, that what we perceived as the promised answers (the Promised Land?) are only really words, that disillusionment magnifies.  The hordes of people, instead of accepting responsibility for themselves, for their own souls, basically say to the pope “Okay, Papa, tell us exactly what to do and we know we will then go to heaven.”  When it is realized that no one can tell anyone exactly what to do in order to attain the ideal of heaven, a sense of betrayal follows.  The mob turns.

  Centuries ago the mob turned because they discovered they were not lead by a king who would literally raise them above their earthly human condition; they misunderstood the lessons.  Today’s mobs turn in a different way, they turn cynical, critical and fall into despair, because they STILL misunderstand the lessons, the lessons of all the truly great and profound teachers.

In the little known Gospel of Thomas, Jesus is quoted as saying:  If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.

        Buddha admonishes:  No one saves us but ourselves.  No one can and no one may.  We ourselves must walk the path.

        The Bhagavad Gita teaches:  It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection.

        In Luke, Christ assures us:   Everyone who seeks, finds.

         In the end, those who follow any leader, religious or political, or any faith, religious or political, with blind awe and devotion only fail themselves; they fail their already-perfect souls by not creating a human experience of understanding that is meant to enhance even more those perfect souls.

        If you are going to have blind faith in anything, have blind faith in your soul.

 

      Until next time, LL&P!

  

References:

First Vatican Council, "First Dogmatic Constitution on the Church", chapter 4, 9
infallibility means more than exemption from actual error; it means exemption from the possibility of error", P. J. Toner, infallibility, Catholic Encyclopedia, 1910.