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FRYMER |
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Getting a new job at 78?
Hey's that's encouraging!
By MURRY FRYMER
of TheColumnists.com
I should admit right off that I am not Catholic. Some of my best friends are Catholic, but not I. That has seemed not to matter much….before.
Right now, if I understand what I keep reading and seeing and hearing, the Catholic world seems to dominate. I always knew the Pope was a big deal, and that was all right with me, but only in the overwhelming drama that has followed Pope John Paul and then Pope Benedict XVI, have I suddenly begun to wonder if I am one of the little people who really should just stand in the corner and watch.
Every thought, every word out of the mouths of either pope has been heralded for weeks. I know more about John Paul’s Polish roots and Benedict’s German school days than ever seemed important to know. I have watched the pageantry on television for hours at a time, debated the color of the smoke from the Sistine Chapel’s oven, watched in awe at the colorful garments that cardinals wear, and been told over and over how many millions were cheering in the Vatican square.
Well, of course, those in the square are probably Catholic. But most people in the U.S. are not and while they are in awe of such a world leader at the Pope, they did not know until now that the life and death of these church leaders overwhelmed all other happenings in the world for weeks on end. Even an American war had trouble getting a front page headline. Nothing, nothing else has seemed to matter, including genocide in Sudan, pandemics in Africa, and the mounting toll of American dead.
I do not blame either Pope or their followers for this. Heck, if you’ve got the media’s attention, flaunt it. But the media can go overboard for weeks, for the death of a vegetative woman, the trial of an alleged wife-killer, or even a potential child molester. Given the story of one beloved pope’s death and the ascendancy of another, the media were simply beside themselves with all-absorbing attention.
It was, for the most time, adoring attention. John Paul had a manner with children and he toured the world stirring up concern for the poor, opposition to war, regaining trust among all religions. I wish he had been able to move away from his rigid theological base to be as welcoming to gays, open to women priests, aware that birth control and condoms might alleviate the tragedy of AIDS in Africa. These were important negatives, not given much play in the assessments of the pope on TV.
I hope Benedict turns out to be a pretty good pope, although he has much the same drawbacks as John Paul.. But I like one thing about the man already. He got his job at age 78, giving me a feeling of youth as I pursue my senior aspirations.
I think he picked the wrong name. Every time I hear Benedict I expect it to be followed by Arnold. Eventually, XVI will sound normal to me.
But I hope we can return to some media concern for the rest of the world. Heck, the Italian president resigned his post the other day, right around the corner from the Vatican. Bet nobody in Rome has heard yet.
The media has again appeared foolish in its single-minded pursuit of a single story. And by so doing, it has had to ignore an awful lot of other stories that, for most of us, may be more relevant.
(My Time and Newsweek just
came. Benedict’s on both covers. Well, maybe next week…)
©2005
by Murry Frymer. The Murry
Frymer caricature is ©2000 by Jim Hummel. The cartoon is
from IMSI's Master Clips Collection, 1895 Francisco Blvd. E.,
San Rafael, CA, 94901-5506, USA. This column first posted May
2, 2005.
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