Santo Subito

Here is the thing about John Paul II. Yes he was an amazing man. He certainly helped end communism. I don't dispute that. I don't dispute the fact that he cared about people. He certainly did. But in many ways I think he was like Mother Theresa rather than being a friend of the poor they were friends of poverty. Opposing birth control is such a good way to make sure that the poor stay poor. Keeping the poor in poverty means they will continue to need the Church's message that misery is only temporary. The message that god still loves them. Policies that maintain poverty, like opposing birth control and condom use, make sense for the Church. If people have too many children to feed, if they have sexually transmitted diseases they need hope and they can get that hope from the church.

I can only hope that the next pope will be more liberal. Personally I am rooting for Godfried Cardinal Danneels, Archbishop of Malines-Brussels. He, wisely, has spoken of the possiblilty of allowing condom use to prevent HIV infection and allowing women more authority in the Curia. While not a radical he certainly is a better choice than Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (AKA the Inquisition).