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The infallible Pope asks a question

Elind said:
Last part: The Pope of all people should not be questioning God (his god); in my opinion. I thought that was quite obvious. He should be guiding the flock in understanding what is perhaps the most common of all such questions. Why does God allow evil, or, why does God cause evil?
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As a former Catholic, I have to disagree with you. The Pope, of all people should be questioning his god. Gah, I hate to take the religious road on this, but there is ample evidence in the Bible of religious heros out and out arguing with their god. Abraham when he tried to prevent the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Moses everytime he had to talk Yahweh out of another temper tantrum, Jesus himself questioning the crucifixtion in the Garden of Gethsamene.

Don't forget, by the way, that the current Pope wasn't Pope in the 30's and 40's. He's not responsible as an individual for the Vatican's position back then. The Pope at the time is, and he's not available for questioning. Neither is God, but that's besides the point.

I see this as a PR stunt. He's saying that today's Church wouldn't do someting like that, and he's condemning the previous administration for their stance. Since the previous administration isn't available, he's asking the only "available" entity-his god.

Marc
 
Marc L said:
He's saying that today's Church wouldn't do someting like that, and he's condemning the previous administration for their stance.
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I don't think he was condemning the wartime papacy for its stance. As we discussed earlier, it's never been established that there was anything about that stance especially worthy of condemnation; certainly it was almost universally applauded for a generation after the war itself.
 
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Marc L said:
As a former Catholic, I have to disagree with you.
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Actually, I don't really disagree with you. One can view this from a theological, legal, traditional, or PR view and come up with different arguments.

Clearly, as has been pointed out here, the Pope broke no laws with this question.

I suppose the OP really just comes down to a personal perspective of someone who sometimes watches religious shows and tries to understand what they say. My impression is that leaders usually try to provide answers, even if they do so through questions.

To my ear the Pope asking his god why he allowed the holocaust to happen just sounds so disappointingly petty on numerous levels.

The question has been asked by millions, loudly and quietly. Public repetition by this Pope, 60+ years later, adds nothing.

The question can be asked daily, and is, about comparably terrible acts by human against human (never mind nature) often done in the name of a god.

Anyway - The Pope's humbleness, or cluelessness, leaves me cold, or perhaps I should say amused.
 
Elind said:
As an aside, I propose that it is because God is evil and likes to have fun with sentient beings. GOOD is just the carrot on the stick that makes the game more interesting.:eye-poppi
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Evil as in riding a tank and holding a general's rank when the Blitzkrieg raged and the bodies stank?
 
Elind said:
The question has been asked by millions, loudly and quietly. Public repetition by this Pope, 60+ years later, adds nothing.
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Nor does repetition by a Holocaust survivor. I don't think the point *was* to add anything, anymore than when Catholics, daily, re-create the Last Supper, the intention is to *add* to the Last Supper.

Anyway - The Pope's humbleness, or cluelessness, leaves me cold, or perhaps I should say amused.
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That could go for probably about ten thousand other things the Pope says and does, right? :)

-Elliot
 
elliotfc said:
Nor does repetition by a Holocaust survivor. I don't think the point *was* to add anything, anymore than when Catholics, daily, re-create the Last Supper, the intention is to *add* to the Last Supper.



That could go for probably about ten thousand other things the Pope says and does, right? :)

-Elliot
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The Pope is the Pope, the sheep are the sheep and I can't think of any of the other thousand things the Pope may have said that seemed worth posting here. Perhaps there are some, but this one seemed to stand out, for all the reasons already given.

If you think it such trivia, why do you keep needing to prove it is trivia?
 
Elind said:
The Pope is the Pope, the sheep are the sheep and I can't think of any of the other thousand things the Pope may have said that seemed worth posting here. Perhaps there are some, but this one seemed to stand out, for all the reasons already given.

If you think it such trivia, why do you keep needing to prove it is trivia?
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Seemed like a good idea at the time. :(
 
Elind said:
Let me guess.....Rolling Stones?

Pretty cool actually. I never figured they would be such good material in a Religion forum. Maybe I can impress someone in the future with one of these.:)
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Yup. But I'm gonna stop, I'm derailing the thread.
 
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