Holy $#@*!, The Pope's Bookby Bolder Landry
When Pope John Paul II's book, Crossing The Threshold of Hope, came out, it was lifted atop the list of non-fiction best-sellers. Intelligent people want to know why. Catholics believe the book because it is written by the pope, the Holy Father or His Holiness. This is an absurd and unbelievable claim. The Holy Father is the latest of 269 popes, many of whom were criminals. Not one crime committed by his predecessors appears in his book. The pope looks at life from the religious standpoint. He speaks with passion about the existence of God; about the dignity of man (a joke); about pain, suffering, evil, eternal life and hope. Well, hope is the basis of faith-a wish for something without guarantee or even evidence; it is without rational explanation because it lies in the realm of faith or wishful thinking. The pope fails to explain why his benign God allows devastating wars, floods, diseases, overpopulation, pedophile priests, ignorance and poverty. On these matters the pope is silent. On December 21, 1994 a volcano explodes in Mexico; more than 70,000 villagers are fleeing from the western flanks of smoldering Popocatepetl volcano, 45 miles from Mexico City. Indian women with babies slung on their backs run from the 17,887-foot volcano as it casts a pall over the already polluted skies. In addition, there's the Colombia eruption of Nevado de Ruiz (1985) that killed thousands. Can these horrors be the will of God? Why, then, if God cares for humanity, does he allow it? What possible purpose can there be for God to WILL these things to happen? The pope's book contains 229 pages divided into 35 chapters. It is a mixture of medieval moral arguments in the style of Aquinas; of personal anecdotes and hopes for ecumenism and moral stands. In Poland the book received mixed reviews in newspapers. There is no doubt that John Paul laid the foundation for his book; but the theology, being a complicated guess, especially the dogmas of faith, may not have been the work of one man. I give His Holiness credit for his literary endeavor. But what about the barrelful of Encyclicals cranked out by other popes, you say? I reply that encyclicals are not books, and they are not binding on the faithful. The fact is that only one pope in 1900 years of Church history can be credited with writing a book. Not very impressive. In June of 1994 His Holiness summoned all his cardinals (120) to Rome to proclaim the Church's long overdue mea culpa. It is noted that in the case of Galileo Galilei, the 17th-century astronomer condemned by the Inquisition, the Church acknowledged its mistake. This was followed by the pope's letter Tertio millennio adveniento (The Coming Third Millennium), announcing the Great Jubilee for the 2000th anniversary of Christianity. First the mistake, then the jubilee, and now his book, followed by TIME magazine featuring the pope as Man Of The Year (December 26, 1994). Elsewhere in his book the pope mentions human rights. One can only conclude that he never read Thomas Paine's Rights of Man (1791), or Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1790). Paine says man has natural rights (Rights of Man, Part I, p. 43). In the chapter on Mulieris Dignitatem (Dignity of Woman), the pope described woman in 160 words. Not one word on how the Church disgraced her. The fall of communism? It was God's will, according to the pontiff. He left untold the role of Pope Pius XII, who helped to fan the flames of the arms race by intrigue between East and West (the Cold War). The two rivals dissipated money and energy until communism was in ruin. More audacious is the pope's silence on the Euro-Americas Holocaust during the Inquisition that murdered millions. It's the bleakest record in history. There are reasons why the pope's book is a best-seller in the U.S. He has the backing of 12 cardinals who control 300 bishops, who oversee 180 dioceses composed of 48 million faithful. In addition, there are Catholic schools, colleges, newspapers, Church-run information centers and bookstores. One begins to see why the pope's book is popular. Finally, Pope John Paul II's writing represents and maintains the antiquated and uncompromising Vatican system and the narrow-minded clergy which it abets. Call To Action: If you're concerned about proposed school prayer amendments, let your representative and Senators in Washington know where you stand. Major fights are taking place in the legislatures of Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, Arizona and Texas over bills to give tax support to sectarian private schools. Residents of those states should let their state legistators know of their opposition. Support the organizations that are working to defend public education and religious liberty: Americans for Religious Liberty; P.O. Box 6656, Silver Spring, MD 20916; 301- 598-2447. American Civil Liberties Union affilitate in your state (see the white pages of your phone book). People for the American Way; 13323 Washington Blvd. Ste. 301, Los Angeles, CA 90066; 310- 823-2860. If there is a local controversy over "creationism" in public schools contact the National Committee for Science Education; P.O. Box 9477, Berkeley, CA 94709; 510-843-3393. Editor's Note: With this book review, Truth Seeker joins the ranks of the prestige press. Do you doubt me? I kid you not. Richard John Neuhaus, a leading conservative intellectual and convert to Roman Catholicism, is Editor-in-Chief of First Things, "A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life." On p. 81 of the January 1995 issue, he writes: "If you believe the prestige press, what we have in this book are disjointed philosophical and theological ramblings by a reactionary old man who heads an authoritarian institution that is lamentably out of touch with most Catholics and the entirety of the modern world. Insight into what is going on here begins with not believing the prestige press." Father Neuhaus continues with over 2500 words of praise for the Pope's book, noting that "every page evinces the intelligence, the warmth, and the passion of an extraordinary Christian soul." Well, we can't agree on everything. (Really, First Things is a very high-quality, religiously conservative journal. If you tackle it, keep a dictionary close at hand. Steve Allen writes, in his book "Dumbth," "...we should read a good deal more than material that simply conforms to our already- cemented prejudices. If you're an atheist, read high-minded religious literature. If you're a believer, explore the arguments of secular humanists, agnostics, and atheists." In that spirit, I recommend First Things.)-WBL
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