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Wed. Jul 11, 2007

Even The Pope

While we witness deadly sectarian strife in Iraq, as Muslim vows to kill Muslim, the Pope has gone out of his way to restate his view that the Catholic Church is the only real Christian church, and yours is just a gathering of people with no means of salvation.

It restates key sections of a 2000 document the pope wrote when he was prefect of the congregation, “Dominus Iesus,” which set off a firestorm of criticism among Protestant and other Christian denominations because it said they were not true churches but merely ecclesial communities and therefore did not have the “means of salvation.”

In the new document and an accompanying commentary, which were released as the pope vacations here in Italy’s Dolomite mountains, the Vatican repeated that position.

“Christ ‘established here on earth’ only one church,” the document said. The other communities “cannot be called ‘churches’ in the proper sense” because they do not have apostolic succession — the ability to trace their bishops back to Christ’s original apostles.

AP: Pope: Other Christians Not True Churches

So, first of all, your church must have some people titled “bishop.” And secondly, they must be able to trace their lineage back to a dozen guys a couple of millennia ago. Gosh, it sounds like … royalty.

I was raised in the Southern Baptist church, went to a Southern Baptist university, where a Southern Baptist preacher taught me about Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism. Since then I’ve had many friends of many faiths, and some with no faith at all. And I’ve come to think that perhaps the greatest sin is to presume to know the mind of God.

Whatever name we might use for “God,” we’re all able to proclaim how great and powerful this Almighty Being must be, to have created this universe and all its complexity, complete with a home for a lowly being like ourselves. And yet … many will in their next breath tell you exactly what God wants you to do, in what manner, in what language, at what time of day, etc. And if you don’t do those exact things exactly as they do, well, no Salvation or Paradise or Enlightenment for you.

Even the Pope.

The arrogance of man is sometimes astounding, but perhaps no more so than when it comes to religion. We often have a hard time admitting … “I do not know ... but I believe.” And that is why it is impossible for me to belittle the faith of others. Because they believe, too, and I am but a humble human who cannot know the mind of God.

Perhaps it is naive of me to expect the Pope to say anything other than the Catholic Church is the only real church. Like expecting the CEO of Coca Cola Inc. to admit his competitors make some potentially tasty soft drinks. But we’re not talking soda water here, we’re talking faith, afterlife, and eternal salvation.

And to me, the bottom line is “judge not lest ye be judged.” Because we all will be some day. And my guess … my belief ... is that on that day, each and every one of us will be surprised in our own way.

Even the Pope.