AUTHOR: Fairfax Mets DATE: 4/11/2005 08:10:00 AM ----- BODY:

So John Paul the II is dead and the world mourns. But why does a funeral become such a spectacle? Like the funeral for Ronald Reagan the funeral for John Paul the II has been more about men who are still alive trying to write history or at least put a spin on it before historians, real historians, 50 years from now get their hands on it. Throughout the last week we have heard nothing but how great a man John Paul the II was and what his legacy will be for the church and how much he did for the church. There have been claims that he, not Reagan or Gorbechev, ended Communism in eastern Europe and later Russia itself. Very big claims. I have come away with this, the Church has lost its message of the Christ and is only concerned with the men that run it. Why, if the pontiff was so concerned with being "Christ-like" did he not choose a humble burial like his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? No, he opted to have his advisors "choose" so he would have nothing to do with it. A few things come to mind when I think of this pope, the first is that when the scandals about child abuse broke out in America he did NOTHING! Actually, he rewarded Cardinal Law by taking him to Italy. And the second is when the terrorist attacked America he chose to...not call evil where he saw it by which in turn he emboldened the enemy. One who refuses to acknowledge evil and confront it is one who sides with evil even if he is not evil himself. The pope was a man who made good and bad choices like any other man. And like the rest of us his remains will wither away in time no better or worst. The outcry of people for this man is just another indication of how desperate our generation has become for heroes. A desperation that has made mediocrity easily confused with heroism.

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