11 February 2013

The Builder of Bridges


So Pope Bendict XVI announced he was going to resign today. It's been nearly 600 years since that last happened. Back then the Catholic church was racked with schisms that threaten to undermine the authority of the Holy See. Popes have resign in the past but never, I believe, on the grounds of ill health. It's usually been dead man's pointy red shoes before.

Maybe what Catholicism needs is a good old fashioned schism. There hasn't been a really big one in ages. This may sound silly coming from someone who isn't religious but I think the big organised religions need schisms.

They need them to shake up the system, make people fight for what they really believe in. If it splits the church? Then so be it. Nothing last forever, this is as true for religious institutions as it is for nations.

No comments:

Post a Comment