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2.4.08

Oh such a day...



Check the priest jokes/Catholic hating BS at the door - I'm not talking about anyone's experience but my own & I'm not apologizing for my spiritual path regardless of how far it took me and continues to take me within and without the boundaries set up by all aspects of society (including you my cynical/reactionary little friends)

3 years ago today the pope died (long live the pope) Pope John Paul II had a profound influence on my life. The policies he implemented regarding the younger members of the church, the way he treated & interacted with the youth population in general was such a divergence from previous behaviors. I still find it disconcerting that in this age of information overload more isn't done to incorporate the history of the church, the reasons for the dogma,into the lessons for the youth. The argument can be made that they get it in school, but they don't - different times in history the church was either a $$$ driven force or societal control or worse an excuse for genocide. But there were good things - the spread and preservation of knowledge the inspiration of beauty and questions leading certain individuals to scientific breakthroughs that still effect us everyday. The best way to prevent the bad and encourage the good to repeat in our future is to understand what happened in our past. The church is a living breathing creature as differentiated and malleable as any other on the planet. Of course it all depends on the thoughts guiding it. Under the leadership of JPII I felt safe. I heard him speak of love and acceptance and peace and tolerance all equally and in abundance. His actions backed up his words. I hold differing views on many key issues such as the role of religion in politics and healthcare and research. But that might be because I'm also a Sci-Fi fan & look forward to the future one winter at a time.

I got the news from a txt msg on a cold wintry (sleeting outside) day 3 years ago - I was with Cat & one of her friends & we were in Middleburg Hts to see "Sin City" - I paid for the tkts with a gift certificate from one of my ex-patients who was also a guy I knew from the answering service gig years before that. After the movie we went to Aladdin's and ate food - I had a bowl of Len-Chili w/ Chicken and lemon tea. I'm that girl & I remember details like this. I remember the smells as it sunk in that he had shuffled off this mortal coil. I remember lying in bed that night wondering what he thought of the afterlife. When the movie let out I had 5 msgs on my phone from friends and family telling me he was dead. It still strikes me as odd, no one called when Vonnegut died, not when Hunter S Thompson left us. I remember the anticipation and excitement as the Cardinals came together to discern the next pope. I remember the devastation when he was announced. I remember trying to give him the benefit of the doubt and the first time he made me cringe, the first time he made me cry with words of hatred and intolerance. I can only hope that the future will show that this was a worthy move, that the peace could someday still be a possibility. That one day everyone could agree that the paths up the mountain all lead to the same view. Faith from love not fear or hatred.

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