Is the Pope Catholic? You Bet.

     I was reading an article which suggested that Pope Benedict XVI has been  remaking the church as we've known it since his election. Some of the issues mentioned were the outspoken criticism of priests who had been found guilty of sexual abuse. The pope has also made it very clear that the people who killed Jesus were not the Jewish people as such, but rather, a group of Temple politicians. He has also invited Anglicans who are not happy with their church's acceptance of gay marriage to join the Roman Catholic Church.
     But what any of this has to do with a slackening of the Catholic Church's traditional views is beyond me, and I find it most unfair to label the pope as "A Rebel With a Cross." Perhaps the pope has disappointed the press because he has not turned out to be the watchdog they had been expecting. What he has become is the successor to Peter, leading his flock through various crises, all the while maintaining a wonderful relationship with Catholic youth and older traditionalists alike. What more could we ask for?
     As far as I am concerned, the Church has not changed one iota. It remains the one, true, universal Catholic Church instituted by Jesus Christ, and continued through Peter's line of successors, of which Pope Benedict XVI happens to be a fine example. The Catholic Church continues to be based on Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture and the Magisterium.
     And Pope Benedict's main preoccupation these days, when he isn't writing books, or travelling to distant lands is reversing the tide of secularism that has swept over Europe, and North America for that matter.
    In conclusion, I totally agree with Mother Teresa who said that she liked all religions, but that she liked hers the best. Long live the pope!