The Pope As Eva Peron

In the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Evita, the character Che plays a central role. He is the one that adds some balance to the mass misery that the people of Argentina throw themselves into after her death. Che's character is there to point out all the things she did that weren't so wonderful. I'd like to take that role on here with regard to Pope John Paul II.

John Paul II certainly did contribute to the demise of Communism in Poland and across Eastern Europe. It could be said that he contributed mightily to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Although, the US press has already claimed that mighty feat for Ronald Reagan. Truth be told, the Soviet Union may have collapsed under its own weight without either of them, but who knows?

John Paul II is the one who refused to budge on contraceptives. There are very few Catholics in the developed world who would adhere to his doctrine. But, what about the rest of the world? There may be many reasons people have for not using contraceptives in the developing world, but one among them is that it's against Church doctrine. He even denies the use of condoms when they are a relatively effective way to prevent the spread of AIDS. So tightly bound to outdated ideas was this Pope that he actually had one of his Bishops recant his statement saying that condoms would be a good way to prevent the spread of AIDS. Even worse, the Vatican helped promote one of the Bishops in his campaign to say that since condoms didn't prevent the spread of AIDS 100% that promoting their use was just promoting AIDS. He was really saying that it's better to go without a condom than to use one and have the false expectation that one is safe. Would that same Bishop also say that using medication for diabetes is misleading just because it doesn't work for 100% of diabetics?

John Paul II presided over a Church that refused to support Liberation Theologians throughout the world. Yet, at the same time went about co-opting their message with a watered-down version of promoting the honor of work. There is certainly value in honoring workers and the downtrodden, but to actually cut off Liberation Theologians at the knees does not advance the cause of the downtrodden. Jesus didn't get the death penalty from Pontius Pilate because he went around honoring the poor, he was killed because he advocated a revolutionary way of living that didn't placate the powerful. Can we say the same of John Paul II?

John Paul II steadfastly refused to consider the possibility of women priests. This coming at a time when priests are in short supply across the US and Europe. In this day and age that is downright stupid! Women have proven themselves capable of any kind of work, and if honoring work is of value, then allowing women the chance to work as priests is only prudent. The Catholic Church is becoming more and more irrelevant in the West, and a large part of that has to do with a shortage of priests at the local level. Might the Church be one of those institutions that collapses of its own weight, because it denies fully half of its membership the opportunity to support it as full-fledged members of it?

John Paul II presided over an organization that sheltered, hid, and protected pedophiles in its own ranks. If anything is sin in its barest sense, it is this! The scandal of the pass few years is not the first time any of this came to light. These practices have been going on for years. They didn't reach the level of the past 4-5 years, but they've been there for at least 25 years. All this happened under John Paul II. There is no way that he and the Vatican leaders were ignorant of these problems. When the stories first came out 25+ years ago, why didn't they commit to a complete investigation? Did they not do so out of a concern for money and image? If so, such efforts to cover up crimes are inexcusable and should be prosecuted. In fact, Bernard Law, former Bishop in Boston where more than one pedophile predator operated, was brought to the Vatican after he was forced to resign. Is that the kind of action that brings about justice? I don't think so. I believe it was the height of hypocrisy.

Let's put some balance in the next few days of this spectacle that will be John Paul II's funeral. Like Che said cynically in Evita, "when they're ringing your curtain down, demand to be buried like Eva Peron!" May he rest in peace.
- posted by Marcos @ 7:09 PM