Mrr, they've been ready for John Paul II to die for years. Discussion of his successor and the political jockeying began ten to twenty years ago.

People who say "we don't need popes" probably give the Pope more credit than he's due. He's just a man, the man who's in charge of the Catholic Church. Most organizations need somebody to be in charge. It's as simple as that.

I suppose that to the extent that people believe in an organization, they may also also believe in its leader. I've worked and taught in the Catholic Church all my life, and I have some questions about him. I think he's done much to promoted the cause of peace and justice in the world, and I applaud him for that. He promoted the cause of democracy in the Philippines, and he opposed George Bush in Iraq. He did much to end Communism in Eastern Europe, although the situation there is still far from perfect. Under the his leadership, the Catholic Church has involved itself in extraordinary disaster and poverty relief programs all over the world - without preaching.

I question the Pope's position on many internal church issues, such as the ordination of women and the use of birth control. I also question the level of acceptance and encouragement he has given to fundamentalist Catholic groups, including some who had been excommunicated by his predecessor, Pope Paul VI. But that's just part of the process, the growth pains of change in a large organization.

I've read that John Paul II sees his suffering as a sort of martyrdom, that he is suffering on behalp of all who suffer in the world. He also seems to understand his assassination attempt in the same way. Well, I think that's admirable - bur I also think that he's not doing much of a job any more, and that it's time for him to retire.

One other thing - papal infallibility, one of the most misunderstood teaching of the Catholic Church. I think it's dangerous to say the "the Pope" is infallible. It leads to a serious misunderstanding of the doctrine of infallibility, which says that in certain very limited circumstances, the teaching of the Pope on matters of faith and morals can is without error. The doctrine of infallibility has been invoked twice since it was promulgated in the 1870's, and both of these instances involved bestowing rather inconsequential titles on Mary, the mother of Jesus. There are other parts of Church teaching that say that in general, Catholics are supposed to accept Church teaching as the truth - but not necessarily as unquestionable truth.

So, to say "we don't need popes" bothers me. Why don't we?

-Joe Offer-