Bad News on the Doorstep

Sorry to borrow a line from that song, but well, it seems fitting. My nephew lost a coworker in Iraq last week, and that struck a chord, I again feared for his safety. That was the first bit of news that bothered me. The next bit was that one of the folks that I used to work with passed on, he was a funny, ornery old guy, and very easy to love! My friend Barbara emailed me of the loss, and she also emailed me of the many losses to my former coworkers these past few weeks.
I opened another email from another friend and saw that she too, had lost a couple of people in her family. I guess my friend Barbara H was right, the Pope opened the pearly gates and a flood of people followed him.
I have been dealing with the thoughts of that loss all week. The Pope was a great statesman, and loved children, I don't say that because I am a Catholic, but becasue I am a human. I have heard him called an evangelist, because he spread the word and the work of God. I would like to call him something less religious. I would like to call him a human being. He traveled the world, spreading love and kindness. He spoke out against ideology and human cruelty. He didn't hold back in his words. He embodied everything that I was taught about a kind and benevelont GOD. Now, don't get me wrong, I didn't agree with everything he said, or everything that the CHurch stands for, but I do believe that God sent him to help the world deal with its evils. I think at the end, he knew his work wasn't done, and that is want kept the Pope hanging in there, hanging on to and clinging to life. It was sad to see such a vibrant man be reduced to one struggling to speak and carry on his daily life. The world lost someone who could bring about change this week, powerful change. It was amazing that he did bring on that change, and helped the world be a better place.
The outpouring of affection for him is amazing. I cannot believe the news reports as I see people filing past his body. The thought that someone who was in a position to be so unreachable, made himself so reachable, touchable, that is unbelievable.
To me, it seemed as if you encountered him by chance of course, you could sit down next to him and have a conversation. As if you were talking to your friend. I know that there are parrish priests who are reachable, but there are also those who aren't. To get that feeling from basically the supreme leader of a world wide organizied religion, to me is so fantastic. He must have been a heck of a pastor in his local church.
Anyway, I know that the church and people have issues. I have many of the same issues with the church, but I believe in many of the traditions and rituals of the church. It is a place to worship, a place to get GOD. As a child I never felt comfortable or comforted in the parrishes that we as a family attended. I have found a place where I feel comfortable, and hope that my children do too. I am not an every sunday catholic, although I know that I should be, but I do believe in God, and I do pray. My children attend religious ed. They will never be altar boys, because of the recent scandals surrounding that. I also believe that people who abuse children are everywhere, not just in the church. For goodness sake there are teachers who have done it, garbage men, stockbrokers, etc. Trust is a hard thing to earn when you have lost it.

Anyway, I guess I am done on this soapbox. Agree or disagree, that is what it is all about. Let's just say that we have a long road to walk down, and change is a tough thing to do, no matter what or who you are, bu t as the road gets shorter, perhaps, just maybe, change will come. Evolution didn't happen overnight.