The headline of the July 11 Des Moines Register was the 85% "NO" vote by the citizens to the proposal to increase the local sales tax. Tucked back on page 9A was an Asociated Press article with the caption "Pope: Catholic Church is the only true church." That should have been the headline because the implications have far more reaching consequences than whether we pay another penny tax on our purchases.
Pope Benedict XVI, according to Nicole Winfield of the AP, not only believes the Roman Catholic church is the only true church, he also asserts that Catholicism "provides the only true path to salvation." Hello! In other words, of the 2.5 billion people who claim to be Christian on the planet today, only the Catholics are really Christians. The rest of us are substandard, unredeemed, misguided, defrauded, unqualified imposters. According to this pope, sometimes called "Papa Nazi" by his detractors who point out his affiliation with Hitler's Nazi youth organization in earlier years, other Christian communities "cannot be called 'churches' in the proper sense." That means if we are Lutheran, Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptist, Assemby of God, etc. we are not Christians, our church isn't either. Only by converting to Catholicism, attending Mass, observing the Catholic sacraments administered by an official priest can one hope to be saved. Yikes!
I cannot overstate the sinister implications of this declaration at this time in world history. Nor can I think of anything that could be more contrary to the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles. My first impulse is to fight this evil with angry protest and hostility. But, then I remember what the scriptures say; "overcome evil with good." So... I pray God's blessing on Pope Benedict XVI, my brother in Christ, and all of his followers, who, like me, are trying to find their way in a spiritually diverse and complicated world. May the day come when we realize that it is only by having love one for another that we can make any claim to be true followers of Jesus Christ.
