Zing!

A reader writes about the stupid “Obama Represents American Catholics Better Than the Pope” piece:

The thing that boggles my mind is this: Catholics support another intrinsic evil, torture, at a greater rate than the general population, as well. By Kennedy’s brilliant logic, wouldn’t that make Dick Cheney Pope of America?
Or perhaps it just means that too many nominal Catholics take their moral cues from the political leaders of an increasingly morally bankrupt society? It’s a depressing thing for a “Catholic” (or anyone, really) to trumpet as a victory.

Yep. In Catholic theology, we do believe in “representation”. So, for instance, Jesus is our representative on the cross. He who had no sin became sin for us. This is not a particularly flattering suggestion about us, however. Politicians who run on the “You deserve scourging followed by death by crucifixion, the lot of you!” ticket seldom get elected. But that is, in fact, the divine assessment of our species. However, it’s not all God has to say because he loves us anyway and is bound and determined, not to affirm us in our okayness and say, “In you I behold the Wisdom of the Voters!” but to take upon himself all our trillions of sins and outrages against himself, bear them to death in our Great Representative, and raise us to life in Him, no matter what the cost.

I’m pretty sure that neither Obama nor Cheney (especially Cheney, who is a proven coward) are willing or able to represent us in that way, which is the only way that will ultimately matter. I do know that, by grace, the Pope as priest stands as an alter Christus when he bears us to God and God to us in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. How any politician could do that is unclear.