O Lord, with suppliant humility we entreat Thee, that in Thy boundless mercy Thou woudst grant the most holy Roman Church a pontiff, who, hy his zeal for us, may be pleasing to Thee, and by his good government may ever be honoured by Thy people for the glory of Thy Name. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who livest and reignest with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.
Collect from the Missa Pro Eligendo Summo Pontifice (Usus Antiquior)
Why not give Christianity a go without a pope? The Gospel isn't going to change, Christ is still God the Son begotten of the Father before all worlds...popes just seem to me to be entirely irrelevant to all that. If the pope is supposed to be the focus of Church unity (one of the four marks of the Church) it's quite telling that literally half the Christian world rejects his claims. Even more startling that many Roman Catholics hail the "pontiff emeritus" as the pope of Christian unity!
ReplyDeletePatrick,
ReplyDeleteSorry for not publishing your comment sooner - as you will see from the sense of joy in the blogosphere this evening, the Church is a family, and needs someone in the role of father to feel safe and secure. I grant that ultimately the Father of the Church is God Himself, but He realised that like children, we often need someone in loco parentis in this world (don't forget, he provided this for Himself in His humanity through the person of St. Joseph). While on this Earth, He entrusted this role to St. Peter, and to his succesors. Ubi Petrus, ibi Ecclesia.