Irregular Times Diaries: Unfit Discussion

There’s been a big deal made out of the Pope’s recent declaration that Roman Catholic churches would once again have the option to use the traditional Latin prayers, including a Good Friday prayer that urges God to compel “the Heretics”, “Schismatics”, “the Jews”, and “the Heathen” to submit to the authority of the Catholic Church and worship Jesus as the Pope tells them to.

A lot of people are shocked and offended at this move by the Pope. I can understand why people are offended at a call by the Pope for all Catholics to pray for a universal submission to the authority of one church. It’s a nasty, megalomaniacal, theocratic attitude that leads the Pope to insist upon such worldwide obedience.

I can’t understand, however, why anyone would be shocked at the Pope and his church issuing such a call. There’s a long history of Catholic arrogance and insane claims to power from the Pope.

Pope Benedict, or Mr. Ratzinger, or whatever his name is supposed to be these days, believes that he is the earthly representative of the omnipotent supernatural creator of the entire universe, after all. He claims to be absolutely infallible.

That kind of perspective would make anyone’s psychological train run off the tracks. So, the Catholic Church has gone and issued another edict in which the Pope stamps his foot and demands that he be everyone’s master. I’m not shocked. The Pope has always been out of touch and a bit crazy.

It beats me why anyone would follow the Pope, other than to satisfy some immature need to have someone in authority take care of all of the deep thinking required by adult life.