Poppa’s Got a Brand New Bag, by Martha Thomases – Brilliant Disguise | @MDWorld

September 25, 2015 Victor El-Khouri 8 Comments

Not that anybody asked me, but to my mind, one of the best things about this country is the separation of Church and State.  With no official religion, there is no Divine Right of Kings.  There is no Sharia Law.  The only unelected authorities in my life are those I choose personally and voluntarily.

When I was a young girl, and John F. Kennedy was making his first run for the presidency, a lot of people (including my mother, but not my father) opposed him because they didn’t want a chief executive who would “take his orders from the Pope of Rome.”  (Note:  I don’t know who actually said that, but it’s a phrase I remember, so I put it in quotes to convey that those are not my words.)

So I’m more than a little bit irked at my local television’s obsession with the upcoming visit from Pope Francis.  Yes, there are close to 80 million Catholics in this country.  Yes, a whole lot of them live in this media market.  Is that really something worth re-scheduling Judge Judy over?

He’s here now, and I’m finding this visit somewhat more interesting than visits from other popes.  For one thing, I’ve always found Jesuits to be the most interesting Catholics.  They seem to value questioning and discussion and even disagreements more than other kinds, which makes them seem more Jewish (by which I mean, my kind of Jewish).  Francis, in particular, coming from a community-organizing background that is non-European, is a refreshing change from his more traditional predecessors.  I can imagine having an interesting conversation with him, one with disagreements but not disrespect, if I could speak Spanish.

Naturally, those are exactly the traits that the more conservative among us dislike.  This is a pope who likes to engage in issues beyond those that our popular culture considers spiritual, by which I mean he has opinions about things besides what we do with our genitals.  In his view, the environment and economic inequality are also issues addressed in the Gospels.

As a secular progressive, I enjoy watching conservative Catholics squirm.  For several decades, I’ve listened to conservative Catholic politicians claim that their faith compels them to support anti-choice laws and anti-LGBTQ rights.  It’s a matter of dogma, according to their pope (the same role JFK had to forswear).  This pope has not disavowed previous Catholic positions, but he doesn’t make that big deal about it, relatively speaking. Instead, this pope says it is more important to lift up the poor and save the planet.

There are lots of reasons other than faith to hold any position on any important issue.  I would argue that it is imperative to bring more than faith to one’s moral and political identity.  I think Francis would agree.  After all, he has a degree in the secular sciences.

If you’re Catholic and you are excited about the Pope’s visit, mazel tov.  Enjoy.  As for me, I’ll be out of town.  I won’t even have to complain about the traffic.

Media Goddess Martha Thomases would like to thank Jay Maeder (RIP) for the title riff.