Nov 28 2009
The Pope: Just Some Guy
When in high school, and still going through the motions as a Catholic, I once got in a quarrel with the girl I was dating. What was the quarrel about? The Pope.
The girl and I had recently met at a youth bowling outing put on by our church. We hit it off and enjoyed a few weeks of good clean fun together.
One of the things that precipitated our break up was the scheduled visit to our state by the Pope. My girlfriend was very excited and planned to attend come hell or floodwaters. While I was okay with her excitement, she wasn’t okay with my ambivalence. No, I didn’t plan to waste a full day of my precious youth to go see “some guy.” I probably said, He lives in a castle and wears a fancy costume . . . big deal.
Decades later, this current Pope is likewise “just some guy” to me. Oh sure, he’s a politically important figure. But don’t expect me to revere his opinion an anything more than the opinion itself warrants. Ad hominem arguments — whether they reflect uncritical rejection or acceptance — are logically flawed. And I prefer to steer clear of such pitfalls.
[comic thanks to atheistcartoons.com]
