Many people have opined of late on what the Catholic Church should or should not do about electing the next Pope.  Some where Humorous (and yes, Fr. Guido Sarducci COULD be the next pope!), and others worrisome monologues on what may happen.  And yet a final category went a bit too far (I think) in trying to DICTATE to the Church what "It had better do or else".

I find the last to be extremely amusing as those generally come from: A - Non-Catholics how dont know squat; or B - Catholics who are extremely ignorant of their religion.  In either case, neither of these last 2 groups worry me for the simple reason that the Church is not listening and really does not give a damn.

That being said, the one critical mistake that many are making is in thinking of the Church as a Political institution.  While there is no doubt that at one time, the Church was an empire and ruled badly (and even when not, sometimes they lead badly as well), the Church in the 20th century is not a political entity.  Indeed the only similarity between the Church and politics is in the Election that is about to be held, and even that bears no similarity to any Political Elections I have ever witnessed.

But one thing I am sure of.  The Cardinals, all 115 of them that are Eligible, will seek Guidance from God (Guidance Iconclast - as in they will pray to God) in selecting the next Pope.  And no one can 'campaign' for the job like Bush and Kerry did just a few months ago.

Indeed, one of the biggest fears I have seen expressed is that Cardinal Ratzinger may get the job, and indeed he may.  But his current position, nor any of his edicts or writings, will help him get it in the least.

And indeed, the position of Pope is very much the way that Truman made the Presidency (how's that NJ?).  One can always say "If I was......", but the actual fact is that no living person has EVER been Pope and therefore there is no way to know how they will be as Pope.  And that is why all the wailing and gnashing of teeth I feel is just the lastest edition of Drama Queeness.

When Pope John Paull II was elected, the Church had just gone through a huge re-invention.  Stripping away the mysticism that had grown through the Middle ages with the spread into the pagan lands of europe and finally culminating in the 20th century where everything was like the Wizard in the Wizard of Oz.

Vatican II, and the subsequent changes made by Pope John XXIII and Paul VI helped to bring the Church back to the faithful and allow them to understand and participate in the liturgy and indeed the Church itself.  By any stretch of the imagination, both of These Popes were extremely Liberal in both Doctrine interpretation and in their actions in guiding the Church.  Yet after 20 years of 'Liberals', the Church then Elected a 'Conservative'

Was he conservative when he was elected?  No one really knows as he did not have to lead a billion people world wide.  And in some ways he was not conservative.  But overall, he lead conservatively and would not allow Women priests or married ones (except he did, just not universally).  His stance on birth control was to say the least extremely conservative.

But his attempts to reach out to other faiths, and to even co-mingle mass with some of them was very liberal and even earth shattering for some Catholics of my Grandparents age.

So while the only qualification for being elected Pope is that you are a Catholic in Good standing (Sorry Mano), in all likelihood, the next Pope will be one of the Cardinals that are doing the voting.  And as some have pointed out, all but 3 were appointed by Pope John Paul II, and yes, they probably are close to his thinking on many issues.  But that does not mean they will lead that way.

The new Pope will be lead by his conscious and his faith, and where that will lead, no one at this point knows.  He may be American, he may be African, but the politics of the day will not be the deciding factor.  The Cardinals faith and prayers will guide them, and after the next Pope is chosen, then his faith and prayers will guide him (technically, it could be a woman, but dont look for that to happen anytime soon).

So to all the Catholic worriers, I say peace.  For we must trust in our faith that our next Catholic Leader will lead well, even if we dont agree with all he states.

And for the pontificating nabobs of false sanctity and pious mouthings, I say get a life!  You have no more impact on the selection of the next pope than an ant has at stopping a landslide.  And your tiresome whinings of 'what should/must/has to be' are just your petulance and immaturity manifesting itself in something you dont comprehend.

And for people of all faiths, I say be at peace as well.  For I do trust in the election process to find a man that will guide my Church, and serve as a beacon of how man can achieve greatness through good deeds and words.  The next one, God willing, will also be one that, when gone, will leave a whole in the hearts of men (and women) world wide.