Pope Benedict XVI was in the United States last week, the first time a Pope has visited the US since the last time
I know from watching the news that this is a very big deal, but I have yet to hear even one person mention it one way or the other unless they were in front of a TV camera. It makes me wonder where exactly the Pope fits in the modern world. Would he make anyone’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world? I don’t mean to be disrespectful. I’m not talking about what he means to Catholics, who, I’m fairly certain, would have him probably in the top ten. But gone are the days when the Pope wielded enormous political and social power as head of the Holy Roman Empire. Gone are the days when heads of state would cower to his mandates and influence. Did anyone think that the Pope/George Bush meeting two days ago would result in anything except a photo op?
I wish it wasn’t so. I wish that somehow the pope had the power to influence an end to the war in Iraq, or even to put an end to the run of the mill genocide. Pick any current genocide, I don’t care. I wish that he had the power to call all the other religious leaders together for a first ever Religious Summit where all the heads of all the churches would come up with guidelines to prevent their followers from using the name of God to further their political agendas, murder and terrorism. I guess what I really wish was that the Pope was relevant in a real, concrete way. I wish I was optimistic that real good would come from his visit.
