The Person of the Year...and It's Only Septemeber

I want you to read the next words slowly and let them truly sink in for a minute…the Catholic Church, that’s right, the same folks that brought us The Crusades, The Inquisition and The Borgias, is today, more progressive thinking on issues of poverty, social justice and science than the Republican Party in the United States.

I have spent the Summer simply observing the world and what is happening in it, and I know I have let a few of you down by not addressing certain issues at the moment of their happening, but I can assure you I will be addressing them.



If this were real it would be awesome!

So before I eventually address the darkness that will be next year’s election, let’s stay in the light for a while. Those of you who have been loyal readers know that I am pretty much anti-religion, however that does not mean that I am anti-religious people, so long as their hearts are in the right place. I have always been impartial in my critiques. However, even I must say that His Holiness Pope Francis even has me energized.

I have lived through three Popes and I have to admit it seems like a pretty cool job. I remember JohnPaul II and how incredibly popular he was. When he passed away in 2005 I remember having a conversation about how there would really be no replacing him as a world leader. His successor, Benedict the XVI proved me right. He was, at most, quite boring and committed to not rocking the boat. Well this current Pope has pretty much torpedoed the boat out and replaced it with a practical Fiat, and I have to say I believe we are all fortunate to be seeing this in our lifetime.

In less than three years, Pope Francis has not only uplifted and energized the church, but he has given a great many people who were long considered disenfranchised, a reason to believe again. This is without a doubt and by far, the most progressive, tolerant, humanist Pope, probably in the history of the Papacy, and those of us watching should recognize how historical this is. So much so, that before his recent trip to the United States, he actually had to make at least a token attempt to say that he was not a “leftist.” Yeah, whatever dude.

I remember how cynical I was about religion. I remember getting in real trouble when I was a kid for a joke I made up saying that I was not impressed by the Pope or his Pope-mobile. You wanna impress me? Put the Pope in a strait jacket and fill the Pope-mobile up with water. If he can get out in 2 minutes like Houdini…
And then there was that time in Law School where I was sitting in the cafeteria with two of my friends and there were three nuns sitting at the table next to us and I said “Ok three of them, three of us, who is gonna get this started?” OK that one might have gone too far but I thought it was hysterically funny.

I have to say this guy has me curbing my negative attitude towards religion simply because he is actually LIVING the doctrines the church supposedly teaches, and at the same time teaching so that we may live better. Imagine that, someone who claims to be the living successor of Jesus Christ actually living and teaching like…Jesus Christ. Why would so-called “Christians” be so afraid of him then? And let us not overlook the way he seamlessly brought together Muslim, Jewish and Sikh leaders at the World Trade Center Memorial. It is not just any voice that could have done that. So the fact that he has conservatives in this country and even some Vatican sacred cows nervous says a great deal not only about how progressive this Pope is, but how backwards conservatives are. Still not convinced? Well let me give you a small sample of his greatest hits: 

“If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and is of good will, who am I to judge him?”

“To change the world we must be good to those who cannot repay us.”

“God is not afraid of new things.”

“Money must serve, not rule.”

And my personal favorite…“Atheists should be seen as good people if they do good”

Now I still may not be endorsing any church, but how can I, as a reasonable person, not acknowledge how good this man is for the world? And it is obvious that in only two short years he has greatly revitalized an institution that was more of a punchline than a guideline. This Pope is a total a rock star. His presence here in New York City brought an energy to it that I have not experienced in years. I mean did you see that wild reception he got at Madison Square Garden? The last time that place got so loud The Stones were doing “Satisfaction” as an encore.

Look, let’s not get it twisted, he is still a religious figure representing a lot of things that I do not agree with, but he is clearly taking religion in the right direction. The direction that it had actually promised, the direction of humanity. And to be the first Pope in history to ever address the US Congress and remind them of that humanity...well, really what more can you say? And this guy may just be my Person of the Year.