The Pope-a... he's a-so nice-a!

I had kind of an interesting experience yesterday and today: apparently, there was a rather major announcement made by the Pope, to the effect that Jesus established "only one Church". My old friend from high school, Jill (with whom I've only just recently re-established contact), sent me an e-mail, saying, "I just wanted to ask you a question since I know you are still Catholic. Do you believe what the pope is saying here? Just interested in your take on this article. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19692094/"

I clicked on the link and tried to read the article. To be honest, I found it somewhat cryptic. So I asked Jim what he thought, and he agreed that it's not the best written article ever... it's not very clear.

This morning, I got up bright and early to do my usual daily workout, and I spent an hour researching this article and formulating an answer, instead. Here's what I wrote back to my friend:
Wow--you really gave me some food for thought!
1.) The article you linked me to is a bit confusing... it was poorly written, in my opinion (and hubby's--I asked him for feedback, to see if it was just me having a hard time with it, and he agreed). I mean, it's hard to understand, from this particular article, what exactly is being talked about. What did the Pope actually say? What's the actual point of the article? I did a little research to see if I could find more info on what was being discussed, but in a little more clear language. Here's a link to what I found:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070710-1255-pope-otherchristians.html

And I like the language of this article even better--I feel it's even more clear: http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=24660

2.) You asked me if I "believe what the Pope is saying here", and what my "take" on it is. I guess I'm assuming you mean, do I agree with the Pope? (You said, since I'm "still Catholic".) Based off of my understanding of the articles I've read (the one you sent me and the ones I've linked above), then yes, I agree with the main point of discussion: I agree that the Catholic Church is the "one, true Church". Obviously, it's not THE ONLY Church out there; rather, it is the one church founded by Jesus Christ himself. To my knowledge (based largely off of my Catholic school education), other churches basically split away from the Catholic Church and its exact teachings when they (the newly split churches) came up with teachings (or perhaps practices) they preferred. Yet the Catholic Church remains the "one, true Church" in that it is (and always will be) the ONLY church Jesus himself founded, directly through St. Peter. Any other Christian Church was founded by someone, years later, who was not an apostle of Christ, living and breathing during Christ's time, following Jesus' direct instructions. Know what I mean?

3.) I feel it's important to note that there is clarification in all three articles (it's best explained in the 2nd link I've added, I believe) that the Pope is not saying other churches aren't valid. The word "ecumenical" is thrown around a lot, and I'm embarrassed to say, I had to look it up. I wasn't sure what it meant (actually, I didn't know at all what it meant). Here's what I found:
ecumenical
1. general; universal.
2. pertaining to the whole Christian church.
3. promoting or fostering Christian unity throughout the world.
4. of or pertaining to a movement (ecumenical movement), esp. among Protestant groups since the 1800s, aimed at achieving universal Christian unity and church union through international interdenominational organizations that cooperate on matters of mutual concern.
5. interreligious or interdenominational: an ecumenical marriage.
6. including or containing a mixture of diverse elements or styles; mixed: an ecumenical meal of German, Italian, and Chinese dishes.

Ecumenical, then, as I understand it, means trying to be inclusive of all Christian churches.
The Pope was basically clarifying, in his statement yesterday, that while the other Christian churches out there are valid and are viable means for attaining salvation, there is only one Catholic (i.e. established by Christ himself) Church. So while "ecumenical dialogue remains one of the priorities of the Catholic Church" (i.e. the Catholic Church wants to be on the same page as other Christian churches, basically), such dialogue must be founded on "not just mutual openness of the participants but also fidelity to the identity of the Catholic faith" (i.e. we've got to recognize that Catholicism was the only religion/church actually founded by Christ himself).

4.) I do agree with this and believe this all to be true--I agree that the Catholic Church is the one, true Church, in that it is the only one founded by Christ. However, I agree, as well, that members of other Christian faiths may still obtain salvation. It seemed, when I was growing up, that there was a misunderstanding about this, and most of my childhood priests taught that only Catholics would get into Heaven--the articles above clarify that the Pope is debunking that idea... however, I do feel that he's implying that, while non-Catholics can get into Heaven, their best path would be through the Catholic Church, since that was the Church founded by Christ--after all, who would have a better idea of how to get there? And we know that the Pope is infallible in matters of the Church, so his teaching or directives with regards to the Church must be true and accurate.

5.) What do YOU believe? What is YOUR take? You make it clear to me that you're not "still Catholic" and I believe your MySpace said something about you being "Christian - other". Does that mean you've switched to some Protestant church? (Presbyterian? Lutheran? Methodist?) Or have you been "Born Again"? Let me know where you are with all this--I'm intrigued. The only other friend of mine who has left the Catholic Church, but remains Christian, considers herself "born again". (I think, for her, she's got an even stronger Faith than she did as a Catholic.)

Anyone out there reading this, I'd be interested in what you have to say. I haven't gotten my response back, yet, from Jill. I would love to know what any of you think, as well. I am definitely no expert, and I'm basically just regurgitating back what I've read online, with my own opinions thrown in for good measure. Still, it's fun to hear other people's opinions... Either leave me a post or e-mail me. Thanks! -tt

p.s. I want to clarify that the MSNBC article omitted part of the statement that was made, thereby making the Pope sound as if he's completely excluding other Churches. Please be sure to read all three of the articles I've linked, as the verbage is a bit different in each. Also, as Jim pointed out (and as each article states, I believe) this statement by the Pope is basically just clarifying what was stated in Vatican II forty years ago--he didn't just all of a sudden come up with this stuff yesterday, or even back in June. Rather, he's clarifying a point that was made years ago. Again, I welcome any comments--this is interesting to me! :) -t

Addendum to Concert List

I missed a concert--figured I would. Anyway, I'll add it to the real list, if you're interested in going through the archives to see the whole thing. The concert I'd forgotten (go figure) was Aldo Nova, here in Lincoln. Don't know who opened. Probably nobody. I just remember the one song Aldo Nova was famous for: Fantasy.

Interesting side note: Take a look at "Aldo Nova". Drop the first two letters of his name and add the letter 'n', and you've got MY SON'S name! Isn't it amazing that I forgot about this concert? I mean, seriously--Donovan is on my mind all the time--you'd think Aldo Nova would've been the first concert I'd have remembered! Sheesh! :)

Turn Around, Bright Eyes

I heard "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler the other day, and I had to laugh. Well, for one thing, it makes me think of the way it was 'covered' during the wedding scene in the movie "Old School". Hilarious! But it's funny to me, too, how I actually enjoy hearing that song just because it's so old and it takes me back to when it came out (1983). It got me thinking about how certain songs will stir up whole memories.... like this song: we went to spend a weekend, as we often did, at my Grandma's in Columbus. A lot of times our parents coordinated those weekends so that we'd be there at the same time as my cousin Bridget's family. I loved that, because Bridget and I really had a good time hanging out. (Can't say how much fun it was for my older brother or her younger sister, and my little brother and her littlest sister were just toddlers back then, so they wouldn't probably care as long as they were fed and entertained.) Anyway, "Total Eclipse" reminds me of one of those weekends, because Bridget was way into that song, and I hated it--I was into Michael Jackson and "Thriller" at the time. (I know, I know.) So all weekend long, she kept singing that song (or maybe even playing a cassette tape of it?), and it was driving me nuts. I just thought "turn around bright eyes" was especially creepy because of Bonnie Tyler's wacky eyes and how they looked kind of spooky in the video. Well, we ended up all getting stranded at Grandma's for an extra two days because of this horrendous blizzard! I know it probably drove all the grown-ups nuts, just because the house wasn't that big, and a weekend was usually enough time to spend together as it was. (Or maybe it was just the fact that the beer usually ran out by Sunday afternoon, and our folks couldn't go get any more!) But I was especially going crazy, hearing that song over and over and over again for an extra two days! It was fun, though, playing in the snow at Grandma's house and calling in to school from Columbus, telling them we weren't coming, etc. Quite the adventure.

Another, similar memory, also involves Columbus, strangely enough. I told Jim the other day, as we heard the tail end of "Stranglehold" by Ted Nugent on the radio, that the song reminds me of one trip we made to Columbus, for my family's bi-annual (is that the right word? every other year?) family reunion. After that reunion, we were going to continue on to Norfolk, where we'd spend the rest of the weekend at Jim's folks' house. The fun (I use that word lightly) thing was, Jim was DJ'ing at the time (weddings, mostly), and he'd agreed to do a wedding for some friends of his family. So, in order to do the dance, he had to bring all the stereo equipment, speakers, lights, crates of CD's, etc., in his little Mazda 323 all the way from Lincoln. The car was about as big as a bathtub, so that meant he had to pack the stuff in part of the way, then have me get into the front seat, then pack the rest of the stuff around me. I'd gone to a few dances of his in Lincoln that way, and it was just kind of funny. (I imagine it was even funnier for someone on the "outside" to see me climbing out of that car after he'd partially unpacked it.) But for the two hour ride from Lincoln to Columbus for this family reunion (the last weekend of July was when they always have it, and Jim's car either didn't have AC, or it didn't work very well), it was not particularly comfortable. We spent a few hours in Columbus, outside in the heat at that park by the river, then he packed me back into the car with the stereo equipment, etc., and we went the rest of the way to Norfolk. We heard "Stranglehold" on the way to Columbus--I think it was on a tape Jim had made, because I remember hearing it again on the way to Norfolk. I don't remember the trip back from Norfolk to Lincoln... I just remember the trip up there. It was not exactly pleasant, but considering all the stuff we have to pack nowadays for kids, it wasn't that bad. (Of course, I don't have a ton of equipment on my lap and poking me in the back and all around my legs, etc., but still... it still seemed quicker, to me, packing and unpacking all that stuff, versus packing stuff for our kids!)

That's all--no pix this time, just a goofy post. C'ya! -t