thoughts upon the Pope's passing

[rengal]

I was starting to feel disconnected from the pope about Thursday-ish. It's strange, really, because he was always kinda' there in the background of my life as a stable patriarch (in the familial sense) for me. He never in my whole life seemed distant or just a leader figure in a distant land. So, about that time I started feeling disconnected I

Comments

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[lupe101]

I don't have a faith in any orthadox sense, but I deviate from many of my friends in that I had a great deal of admiration for the way this pope decided to go out.

For our social circle he is a famous guy who died with all the pomp and cicumstance of any other celebrity and as such it would go against our nature not to satirise his passing, but on a human level I admire anyone who demonstrates conviction in their beliefs even if those beliefs are in my opinion flawed.

I read a report saying he requested to have the passage where jesus carried the cross to his final place of crucifixion read to him repeatedly in his final days, and in his decision not to die a comfortable death in hospital and instead suffer to the end he was not drawing comparisons but instead saying something about conviction in your faith.

Because faith is choosing your message over your own comfort. I admire that.

Its an interesting irony that he should choose to do this at the same time as the president of America was trying to deny a woman of exactly that right.

In many ways the pope, who has always been pro life, chose to end his rather than extend it through medicine, A right I feel he would have objected to on a theological level but seemingly approved of in his own case.

I don't find that right or wrong just interesting.

And maybe thats the best thing any theological authority can do. Raise questions rather than provide answers, teach by example rather than authority but also signal up the various dicotamies that arise when we attempt to be representative of the absolute. After all, we're only human.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that his death means something to all of us. You'll hear people make jokes about it, you'll hear people weep about it, and I don't think much really seperates those who ridicule and those who revere.

To me he's a bloke that died who lived a live of conviction to his faith. On a human level, I maintain respect for that, may his faith bless him.

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[rengal]

I'm really especially glad you took the time to write these thoughts down. I really enjoyed them, and they gave me continued fodder for my own thoughts.