Commentary on Pope disturbing

3/5/2013

As a Lutheran, I find The Blade’s antipathy toward Pope Benedict XVI and the Roman Catholic Church disturbing.

When the Pope announced his retirement, your Feb. 12 editorial “The Pope steps down” betrayed your ignorance of church doctrine and practice. Kirk Walters’ editorial cartoon that portrayed Pope Benedict as the curator of a museum-like Catholic Church was offensive.

The mission of the Christian church is profoundly countercultural: to bring Jesus Christ to the world through its message, and by engaging and serving the culture, not by imitating it.

When the church has behaved like the culture, it has lost credibility, its image has been tarnished, and its message has been muted.

The church that you envision would be no church at all, but a reflection of the culture: the Church of Anything Goes. This is a role better suited to The Blade, because your editorial policy includes the values the culture embraces.

The Catholic Church spreads the word of Jesus Christ, someone The Blade does not understand, and whom much of the culture hates or dismisses.

JOE STRIETER
Monclova Township

Treat Congress like a conclave?

In the 13th century, the papal election conclave lasted so long that the cardinals were locked in to give them the impetus to pick a new pope.

This got me to thinking about the continuous stalemates occurring in Congress.

DONALD MUNKACY
River Road

Religions should offer health plans

Why don’t religious organizations offer health insurance directly? There are Catholic-affiliated hospitals nationwide. Providing health insurance would be an extension of the church’s commitment to help the sick.

Smaller independent churches could form health-insurance consortiums. Private companies still could administer the plans.

There could be problems, but they couldn’t be any worse than the mess we have now. Employer-based programs are piecemeal, and haphazard, and getting worse.

BOB PACER
Delta, Ohio

Bring back the GOP of the past

When will the GOP go back to being the party of Abraham Lincoln — the party that wanted to keep the United States together?

The GOP has become the Old White Men Party.

Special interests rule everything. Society has forgotten charity and love of our fellow man.

Please, Republicans, return the old GOP to us.

LISA BARRETT
Lambert Drive