Papal transition

Christian Century, July 26, 2005 by Carole Parmeter Dyer, Wayne G. Boulton, Anne-Marie Hislop, Carol Gloor

I WAS disappointed in the CENTURY's articles about Pope John Paul II ("Papal witness'and News, April 19). While I too "laud his compassion" and his work for peace, I expected to read some quotes by women, or an interview with a prominent Catholic theologian (maybe a woman?) who is critical of the late pope's stance on women, birth control, the celibacy of priests, liberation theology, etc.

Is it in the name of peace, and in support of the poor, that a young mother of four children living in poverty is told she cannot practice birth control and cannot have an abortion when she finds herself pregnant again and in total despair at the thought of trying to provide for another human life? This is just one of the questions I would have liked to see someone address.

I was not only disappointed but even dismayed by the all-male (all-white?), completely positive look at the pope's legacy.

Carole Parmeter Dyer

Long Beach, Calif.

The gem of the April 19 issue is Robin Lovin's brief but poignant summary of the legacy of Pope John Paul II for the world church and for the world ("Papal witness"). When an essay is done this well, it is easy to forget how difficult it is to capture the global impact of a person many believe deserves to be called the "man of the century."

Lovin has no trouble citing the deceased pope's strategic limitations and faults. The thunderous achievement of Karol Wojtyla, however, was to become perhaps the most potent embodiment of Plato's philosopher-king in the modern era. He was a scholar, yes, but he also loved music and instinctively understood its spiritual power. He grasped the way modern travel and media together with the machinery of the Catholic Church could communicate ancient ideas with more potency and farther afield than ever before. He did, in one way or another, what all religious leaders try to do.

Wayne G. Boulton

Roland Park Presbyterian Church,

Baltimore, Md.

AS A WOMAN who is also a pastor, I was disheartened indeed to read the CENTURY issue dealing with the election of Pope Benedict XVI (May 17). From John Buchanan's statement that Protestants are "cautiously hopeful" about the new pope to D. Stephen Long's asking how "we can refuse to acknowledge the beauty of the papacy," the concerns of women are virtually absent. In fact, those concerns are reduced to the phrase "the role of women" in a brief list of concerns in Buehanan's essay.

While papal preaching about Christian unity is in some ways positive, let us not forget that the pope envisions a united church with the pope defining doctrine and unilaterally making the rules. That papacy is, and will continue to be, a self-sustaining all-male hierarchy understood to be God-ordained as such. The view of the papacy that only men can image the Christ implies that women are derivative in the eyes of God. According to the pope's teaching, as a minister of word and sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) I am not called by God to ministry, am disobeying God's will by preaching and presiding at the sacraments, and would be welcomed into the pope's church only if I denied my sense of call because of my gender.

Anne-Marie Hislop

St. Andrew Presbyterian,

Davenport, Iowa

I must respond, to all three of D. Stephen Longs alleged reasons Protestants need a pope ("In need of a pope?" May 17).

First, Protestantism does not need to be against anything, particularly the pope, to survive. When is the last time there was any official negative Protestant comment about the pope? Protestantism, in its infinite variety, survives and thrives across the world because it guides and meets the spiritual needs of its people, as it has for centuries, and because, sometimes following its better angels, it joins its people in their struggle for peace and justice.

Second, we do not need the pope to guide us toward or manifest Christian unity. Yes, scripture does require us to seek unity. But this oneness will grow organically when Christians truly begin to practice their faith, reject materialism and return to the life of the Spirit.

Long asks, "Could we ever see in our own churches the transnational, multicultural and multiclass expression of love and joy we witnessed in St. Peter's Square?" Yes, we could, in many urban Protestant churches. In my own United Methodist Church on any given Sunday you will hear Africans, Filipinos, African-Americans and Euro-Americans, young and old, rich and poor, gay and straight, worshiping together. Many Protestant churches have the open doors and open hearts that foster real unity.

Third, we do not need the pope to avoid the subordination of truth to power. All thoughtful Christians today know that their faith is at odds with the West's triumphal capitalism and the so-called ownership society. What "truth" does the pope represent? The denial of full personhood to women around the world, the condemnation of all gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons (probably 10 to 15 percent of the world's population) as "sinners" for their God-given sexuality; the inability to face the grown-up reality of human sexual behavior and do something about the AIDS holocaust which is engulfing Africa and Asia; the willed inability to consistently discipline molesting priests and take an institutional stance against this most grievous sin, or even make an apology. No, thanks. I Will stay with the truths I have.