JP2... a tough act to follow!

Now that the Holy Father has been laid to rest, the world turns its attention upon the College of Cardinals as they prepare to elect a new Pope, but who could possibly fill the void left by such a great man as John Paul II. He fought and struggled delivering the message of God?s love to every corner of the earth, he rekindled faith and hope amongst the world?s youth, he broke the back of the Soviet empire and stood his ground on issues of morality in the face of modern liberalism. At his passing, the whole world seemed to cry out for his immediate canonization. Albeit impossible for any man to walk in the shoes of this super hero of Christendom, we need to understand that the next successor of Saint Peter will have to bear the weight of a very heavy cross indeed. The positive momentum established by John Paul II will need to be maintained throughout the next pontificate if this world is to ever rid itself of the evil in society made commonplace by the culture of death.

Today, the streets are a buzz with speculation on who will be chosen as our next pope and without the slightest bit of shame, liberal reformationists along with their cohorts in the MSM have slithered out from under their rocks in an attempt to persuade the world into believing that the Roman Catholic Church needs to catch up with modern times. While spending the past week listening in on various news reports and talk shows covering the Pope?s death, a very distinct pattern became clear:

First, since it was evident that the whole world was mourning the loss of a great man - religious or not, the MSM was determined to cover the story and routinely utter various pleasantries befitting a king specifically for the purpose of maintaining their ratings. At times the soft spoken reporting seemed a bit surreal as they hailed the Holy Father for his ability to touch so many lives and be such a great advocate of peace. This, coming from the same MSM that for years has been on a campaign to smear the RC Church portraying its dogma as antiquated and dismissing its moral teachings as hypocritical in the face of the sexual abuse scandals. Secondly, the MSM purposefully made a point of highlighting doctrinal dissention from liberal groups like Voice of the Faithful, making it appear as if their leftist views were prevalent throughout the whole Church. With John Paul II gone, they see an opportunity for change by swaying public opinion into thinking that by modernizing the Church it would somehow result in broader acceptance of its overall mission. What the MSM fails to realize is that unlike American Presidential elections, the Papal election is not decided by focus groups, soap box rhetoric, polling or partisan spin. With the exception of changes brought about by the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic Church will likely remain steadfast to its 2000 years of traditional moral teachings. Well, for the sake of the Church?s future, we had better hope so.