This has happened after four centuries – A pope stepping down and subsequent Papal elections to give 1.2 billion adherents a new leader to follow! The events are marked with sheer splendor and publicity, Pope Benedict XVI resigning from his duties, political maneuvers at Sistine Chapel, 115 voting slips and one new figurehead – Pope Francis. It seems like God too is amused by publicity, magnificence and sparkles, after all these papal elections witnessed a lot of drama this year!
Yes, it is true that for most of the Catholics, the Pope is an icon struggling to rid the world of poverty and evils, endeavoring to live the rest of his life devoted to the holy and good.
But behind all this publicity lies the fact that in reality the candidates for papacy are similar to modern, unelected politicians, divided into different types like the liberals or conservatives. The truth is that while Church of England discusses its view on coalition benefits without claiming divine interventions, the Roman Catholic Church wields its power over social policies, even though it lost that status in 1536.
Somehow, the Church is still living in the era bygone, claiming authority over the lives and souls of people living beyond the borders of Vatican City. Roman Church contradicts itself. Pope Francis on record maintains his strong stance against abortion, contraception as well as issues like homosexuality and euthanasia. He mentions that priests must live a life of celibacy while homosexuality according to him is “destructive pretension against the plan of God,” whereas the revealed behavior of a large proportion of the priesthood makes his statements quite hypocritical. It is lamenting that while most of the regions where it operates have democratic decisions about the issues of abortion and contraception, yet Rome refuses to update its policies and opinions.
It is true that Catholic Church isn’t as intolerant as other religious sects, but it is agonizing that a Church with over a billion followers is unwilling to update its attitudes towards different social issues. It is a misery that the beliefs remain unquestioned.
