Home OP-ED Is This the Pope the Church Needs Now?

Is This the Pope the Church Needs Now?

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Dateline Dayton – Pauline and I have returned from our Florida vacation. However, before I tell you about the trip, I must comment on a couple events.

It appears the new Pope the Catholic Church has elected could bring much needed healing and leadership to our church. His interest in the poor appears real. Hopefully, he will take a hard look at some extravagancies of the church

Could he also be the Pope who will deal with the priest shortage, especially here in the United States, by allowing priests to marry, or taking one giant leap and allowing women to become priests? Both proposals deserve consideration by the new Pontiff.

I regret that the best we had to send to Francis’s installation was Vice President Joe. With the lack of religious and moral values in our nation’s leadership, what could I expect? Joe Biden is a poor excuse to represent the Catholics of this country, a man in a leadership role who does not uphold the teachings of his faith.

I sincerely hope the Pope has a few choice words for Joe, telling him how he and his boss are destroying what little religious and moral fiber is left in United States.

Drastic Penalties Required

Steubenville, Ohio, has been in the national news, especially last week, when two high school football stars were convicted of rape.

Showing the one boy crying when the verdict was announced was disgusting. Where was sympathy for the girl? What was shown on the national news was a picture of the girl being carried around by the two boys.

These boys got off easy. The victimized girl is paying the price, even to the extent of being threatened. I hope the Ohio Attorney General, Mike DeWine, will, as promised, continue his investigation and bring everyone involved before a judge.

I believe Steubenville’s Big Red football team, a source of community pride, should be required to forfeit all games they won last year and all twenty-seven coaches, yes twenty-seven, should be fired. In addition, cancel football season this year. No member of the 2012 “team” should be allowed on the 2014 team. The mentality of football at any cost must stop.

Where were the parents? Who provided the alcohol? Another example of why a license should be required to have children. Education is not just needed when a child is an infant. It continues for life.

Leaving Town

Putting aside my soapbox, we enjoyed a terrific trip to Florida. Early in morning two weeks ago, we started our trip. First stop was Gallery 63, the auction facility seen on the Discovery Channel, as Auction King. I wanted to place a few items in an upcoming auction. We stayed for part of that day’s auction.

We arrived at 2 in the afternoon and unloaded our pieces for auction. It began at 4, and we stayed an hour. Interesting seeing how the auctioneer worked the crowd for bids, spending a lot of time walking the aisle. Fun to watch, even though we didn’t purchase anything.

After a welcome meal, we were on our way to do battle with the Atlanta traffic. All in all, we didn’t have much of problem getting through the city even though the traffic was heavy. It moved. We spend the night in the small community of Tifton.

Next week, our Florida visit.

Mr. Hennessey may be contacted at pmhenn@sbcglobal.net