Pope resgination gives hope to Catholic church

A few weeks ago now, as I am sure you all know, Pope Benedict XVI announced he would resign his leadership of the Catholic Church. Would it be too ironic for an atheist to proclaim “Praise the Lord?”

For the first time in nearly 600 years, the Pope has resigned his position. For some unknown reason, much of the world saw this as a scandalous, somehow suspicious resignation. As most of my peers are probably already aware, I have never been a big fan of the Catholic Church, nor any organized religion for that matter.

Personally, I view Pope Benedict’s resignation as a potential new opportunity for a stagnant organization. To say that the Pope is leaving his position at a time when the Catholic Church is suffering would be a massive understatement.

To say that the current situation regarding sexual abuse within the church has been damning, would be a gross understatement.  As such, the current situation has the potential to, dare I say, resurrect the faith. Given that Pope Benedict was a rather hard-line leader, few people expected any sort of revolution in the Catholic perspective on contentious issues such as gay marriage.

A new leader has the potential to change a great deal of doctrine within the faith. It is a well-known fact that societal views towards gay marriage, and those of the church, are continually diverging.
While it is unreasonable to expect a complete reversal of Catholic doctrine on the topic, perhaps a revised outlook on the topic would help lead some sheep back to the flock.

Likewise, the Catholic church now has the opportunity to investigate the ever-increasing allegations of sexual abuse. While Pope Benedict attempted to keep the entire scandal as quiet as possible, it has not only been ineffective, but unconstructive. If a new Pope is willing to investigate these allegations, and take the proper legal recourse, it would aid the church down the long road to recovery.

Undoubtedly, the aforementioned examples are only a few small instances; however, no one can deny the great many hurdles the church faces if it wishes to survive in our modern world. A newly elected Pope provides the opportunity to bring about change, and the Catholic Church should take full advantage of the situation.

While many people have attempted to speculate as to the reasoning behind Pope Benedict’s resignation, I do not view this as important. A man in failing health, at the head of a failing organization; the reasoning seems logical, which is surprising, given the nature of the Church.

Personally, I would have no problem seeing the church fail. Given their sordid past, and the current scandals, it might be better for everyone if it did. I know the Catholic church probably hates change more than any organization in the world, but with any luck, they can finally leave their backwards views behind and join logic in the 21st century.
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