I want a new kind of Pope

So far no one has asked me to vote for the new Pope.

I’m not eligible because, while during football season, though I am a Cardinal fan, I am not a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. But you know, I think I should have some say in the matter.

After all, I come from generations of Irish Catholics. I attended a Catholic high school and college but I think I understand why no one has invited me to Rome to sit in on the decision making: I would be considered a troublemaker, like that pesky fellow in the early ’60s, Angelo Roncalli, who became Pope John XXIII.

He was chosen because, at his age, he would just keep the status quo. That’s Latin for “just be quiet and don’t make any waves.” Oh, but did he shake it up: He dropped the Latin and speak the language of the country, he told priests to turn around at mass and face the people paying the bills and he said that it was okay to attend non-Catholic services.

Now, that might not sound exactly revolutionary, but in the Catholic church that would be like ending celibacy for priests, ordaining women and accepting the value of contraception. That’s the kind of Pope I want.

Now you can see why the Vatican hasn’t asked for my vote.

I’m Pat McMahon.

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