04-20-2005, 11:56 AM
At the beginning of your first diatribe you said you don't understand why catholics care so much about the pope. You weren't only talking about you, or the population of catholics you know, but all catholics. He doesn't change their life. They'll never meet them, etc etc etc.
Well the Pope has much more control over the church than the president has over your healthcare and your taxes. So the people who find religion a major part of their life are surely going to care a great deal about the new pope because of his power. Just like how you care about the president because it affects your life.
Your comment about "well the pope doesn't really run anything, it's the local priests and deacons". Yeah, same thing with the president. Because all the local governments are set up to run things, the president's real job is (or at least should be) foreign policy and spreading the word and glory of the US (just like the Pope's job is to spread the word of Jesus).
The other reason they care so much is that the Pope is basically God on earth. He's viewed as God's chosen messenger and people think that he's got some red phone to the magical mystery man in the sky.
Well the Pope has much more control over the church than the president has over your healthcare and your taxes. So the people who find religion a major part of their life are surely going to care a great deal about the new pope because of his power. Just like how you care about the president because it affects your life.
Your comment about "well the pope doesn't really run anything, it's the local priests and deacons". Yeah, same thing with the president. Because all the local governments are set up to run things, the president's real job is (or at least should be) foreign policy and spreading the word and glory of the US (just like the Pope's job is to spread the word of Jesus).
The other reason they care so much is that the Pope is basically God on earth. He's viewed as God's chosen messenger and people think that he's got some red phone to the magical mystery man in the sky.