... but I hope they take this golden opportunity to move into the 21st century (or hell, the 19th would do) and try to get in step with the real world, rather than dig in and double down with the right-wing craziness that has pushed them further and further towards irrelevance and obsolescence ...
Humor me, what do you mean by this?
Ordination of women? Acceptance of abortion? Ordination of homosexuals?
Stopping to condem condoms as an instrument of the devil would be a start...
Any of those would do.
The problem with the traditions of the Catholic Church are that they are completely contrary to actual human nature as it really is, rather than some unattainable ideal. They are the very epitome of "Do as I say, not as I do."
If only they weren't so utterly unrealistic, all of the scandals that have befallen them would have never happened. But because they try to deny all that is normal in the human experience and force guilt over things that are completely natural, all those natural human urges come out in the ugliest, most destructive ways possible. But they are so entrenched in values which went out of date decades if not centuries ago that they just keep doing the same thing over and over, and it will never get better unless they change something very fundamental.
If there is to be a new pope, he or she should be one who can accept the real world in 2013 as it is, and that there need not be a contradiction between following a spiritual calling and being anything other than a straight white male. "Christian" does not need to be a synonym for "sexist," "racist" or "homophobic," despite so many trying to force it to be exactly that.
There is nothing wrong with trying to live up to an ideal, and trying to better yourself. But so few so-called Christinas actually do that, and so little of what we hear about the church embodies any of the values they claim to hold.
I mean, look at this story
here - a Catholic priest was arrested for chasing an underage boy down the street in his underwear after having molested him and tried to take a photo, and his explanation was "I was drunk." That's his alibi! Or this one
here - a Catholic priest offered oral sex to a cop to get out of a drink driving ticket. And a million more. Things like this would not happen if they weren't living under such a repressive, fantasist regime.
Or the fact that the Vatican would waste time punishing its own over having a different opinion on social issues -
here - instead of putting their effort where Christ supposedly said they should - helping people. No instead they condemn and condemn and condemn, while denying truth and lying to cover up their own tracks. How does any of this reflect actual Christian values?
With the ordination of a new pope, the church has a chance to modernise and be relevant again. Because the way they're going, the Catholic Church is driving away its own audience. The world is moving on, and if they can't keep up, they will die. Ah, but that's Darwin, and they don't believe in him either.
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