Most secular historians will tell you that with his 12 apostles, a man named Jesus walked the earth and was crucified for claiming to be the Son of God. You might not believe the “Son of God” part, but the rest is history documented in the Bible and elsewhere. At the request of Jesus, it was Peter who would build the Church and become its first Pope. This means that the Catholic Church and Pope Benedict XVI represent a straight line all the way back to Peter, and therefore Jesus Christ.
As a believer raised in a secular family, and as someone who after much soul-searching due to the appalling child-rape scandal, chose to become a Catholic at the age of 43, the Pope’s surprise resignation yesterday came as a significant blow. If you’re not in the Church, you’re not expected to fathom what the Holy Father means to those of us who are. And as only a three year-old Catholic, it’s something I’m just starting to understand.
Like I said, a blow.
But then, just hours after the news breaks, a loving God sends a comforting reminder of his existence, and makes sure the entire world is comforted by putting a photographer in the exact right spot at the exact right time.
This is a Lenten season I’m especially looking forward to.
And I don’t even like fish.
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