The New Pope (Same as the Old Pope)

Some might say that I am unqualified to comment on the Pope. I have never been Catholic, and although I am very much attracted to the pomp and ceremony of the traditional Catholic mass, there is probably no chance that I ever will be Catholic.

That being said, the Pope influences a lot of people, and what he says and does makes a difference to all of us. From my point of view, the selection of the rigid traditionalist Joseph Ratzinger as Pope, though not unexpected, is very bad news. Pope John Paul II was never a friend to those who love the natural world and care about the future. Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI, is a man cut from same material as JP2.

We humans are rapidly crushing the life out of this world by the shear weight of our ever-increasing numbers. I know there are some economists and conservative ideologues, of the Julian Simon school of thought, who say this either isn’t true or it doesn’t matter. But under scrutiny their arguments on this subject boil down to: “You can’t convince me of anything, because I’m not listening.” It is happening, and it does matter to anyone with a soul and a conscience. Pope JP2 did more than any other single person of our time to encourage this tragic trend.

I remember a few years before his health started to fail, JP2 took a trip to several African countries. Africa is were the loss of our natural heritage is occurring the fastest. The causes of this are many and complex, but rapid population growth is undeniable the biggest factor. Population growth also contributes to poverty and hunger in Africa, which in turn lead to political instability, war, and genocide. What was the Pope’s message as he traveled around Africa? He warned the people there of the evils of birth control and praised them for having so many children! I could not even imagine a more evil thing for him to say.

JP2 tried to do some positive things. I commend him for trying to reduce hostility between various religions. He rightly condemned the industrialized countries for our excessive materialism. And, although I cannot think of anything better to improve the conditions of the poor than reliable family planning (the one thing the Pope tried to deny them), I think JP2 was sincere in his compassion for the poor, in his own peculiar way. Still, from my point of view, his opposition to family planning outweighs all the good things he did by as much as an elephant outweighs a grasshopper.