THE
POPE’S VISIT
The Old Rusty Nail
AN E-JOURNAL FOR OLD PEOPLE
Russell
Burton, an Old Person
As I write this it is October 2015 and Pope Francis has
just finished visiting the U.S. Before his arrival and especially during his
visit there was great concern about his safety for more people are killed with
guns in this country each year than probably all the other advanced countries
in the world. And, for good reason we own more guns than all the people in the
world. I have heard that there will be
more protection efforts for him than any other dignitary who has visited in the
past. How interesting that a man of peace needs to be so protected.
Of course he is aware of these concerns and when asked
about that possibility he remarked “…at my age I don’t have much to lose...”. A rather profound statement and only one
which can be appreciated by us old people for we all understand that dying for
us is part of living and is not nearly as tragic as some young person
dying. You know all of those young
soldiers killed in useless wars.
I do not have any religious convictions though there
are numerous religions to choose from. Still it was fun for me to watch and
listen to this person for he is wise and of course a special kind of dignitary.
A special dignitary indeed for he was welcomed getting off his plane by
President Obama and his family. And, as the religious leader of some 350
billion people throughout the world he has considerable political power.
Some of the fun is to watch people watching the Pope
as he drove through DC in his little Fiat.
He rides in this little car instead of a huge limousine because he likes
to be thought of as a spokesman for the poor. And, he is and I like that… Of course the Fiat is made in Italy next door
to his country the Vatican and with its size it can be carried in his plane. I
assume his little car has not been made bullet proof such as the President’s
huge limousines which each weigh several tons. Of course this speaks once again
to our gun insanity.
Of course the TV
is constantly covering his visit which to me became tiresome and a bit boring after
a while. He addressed our Congress which had the news media and I am sure
members of Congress in suspense for he said what he wanted to say and since he
is a spokesman for the poor some of his speech was politically incorrect. He noted the importance of climate change to
humankind, our immigration issue, and the huge gap here between the rich and
the poor who use to be called ‘middle class’.
The Republicans did not like those concerns so they were generally quite
but did cheer when he talked about the Catholic stand against abortion. Of course no Republican yelled out that he
‘lies’ like one of them did to our President.
There is something about abortion which I too dislike
for it is killing a live fetus which could have lived and become a human;
perhaps President of the United States.
Who knows… Still, I justify this
act because the mother and too the father at times do not wish it to live so
what kind of life would it have?
Interestingly, Republicans want the fetus to live but have no interest
in its future immediately after it is born and may well need financial help.
This Pope is trying to bring the Catholic Church into
the 21st century. He has addressed to some degree several ‘sins’
which the church had embraced for centuries. These are abortion, gay marriage,
and divorce. Even though they are still
considered against church rules, those who have committed these serious sins
are able to seek absolution. Even though 79% of Catholic members accept these
changes some ultra conservatives do not agree.
Absolution is not a new activity in the Catholic
Church for a person could pay the Church a hefty sum to obtain it but it was
doable. The doctrine has not changed just the money handlers in the Church.
Its fight with science over evolution was resolved in
the 1990's much to my surprise when Pope Paul accepted the science of evolution
by finding that it did not conflict with the teachings of the Bible. Of course
resolving those conflicts with the Bible is not difficult for the word of the
Bible can be meant to say most anything.
He skipped the special luncheon they had for him after
his speech but chose to eat downstairs with the staff people. Good for him…
Interestingly and quite profound visits by dignitaries usually have
little to no impact after they leave.
But, the next day the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, resigned from
the House. Wow… He is a very religious
Catholic and the Pope’s address got him thinking about the turmoil he has had
as Speaker. And, I saw a Republican
Senator on TV denounce climate change as a hoax but then say that we need to
invest more in non-carbon energy technologies.
Okay…
The Pope’s last stop was Philadelphia where he visited
a prison and talked with some of the prisoners who of course were stunned. Whether this activity will change their minds
and behaviors is something to be seen in the future.
He also denounced the Bishops who hid the pedophile
crimes of the clergy saying that they will be held accountable. Once again we will see.
A couple of days after he left the United States it
was revealed that he had had a conversation with Kim Davis who was the Kentucky
clerk who had denied to give marriage licenses to Gay couples. She told the press that she had a 15-minute
conversation with the Pope who congratulated her on her stand supporting the
Bible’s stand on Gay marriage. The
Vatican did not deny this conversation but noted that it was not a personal
conversation but part of a group activity.
Then word came out that he had a personal conversation
with a long-time friend who is gay. So,
now that this has come out with photographs and lots of grinning I am relieved
that he is in support of gays.
Interesting there were no photographs of the Pope with Kim Davis so her
story has much less credibility
Still, I am embarrassed though that out country is so
well known about our gun violence. Certainly this country has a fixation on
guns. I guess about 30% of Americans own guns of some type. Most I suppose are for hunting but there are
millions of these guns called assault weapons which are made for killing
people. Why people buy these things, and
they are not cheap, is fascinating and a bit scary for they shoot rounds at an
amazing rate with clips which hold 30 or more bullets. And, I am sure these shells cost a
considerable sum of money.
Recently we have had many killings by people who are
considered insane as if simply killing a person is not an insane act. Those people against any kind of gun control
and they are in a minority agree that crazies should not have guns but without
any sensible gun controls. Go figure…
I wish he would talk about gun control here but
probably not even though it would be most appropriate considering all of the
efforts and expense spent in keeping him safe.
Of course, the Pope after numerous appearances and
addresses all with great fanfare gets on his plane and flies home much of what
he said is clearly forgotten except of course the resignation of the Speaker of
the House of Representatives which put the GOP into some turmoil.
9/15
