An American Pope, blah blah blah…

… And you just made the Holy Spirit laugh. An American pope? I’m against it, as Terry Nelson is so fond of saying. Mr. Nelson – who if you don’t already, should be reading his blog daily – explains why he has such an aversion to the idea of an American pope. An aversion we share. He writes;

It seems to me we Americans get ourselves caught up in cheering ‘candidates’ on as if it were a competition or a campaign for political office – which is precisely why I would never want an American as pope in the first place. I’d hate to see the Roman Catholic Church become any more Americanized than it has.

Imagine using a Wisconsin cheese-head-hat for the Papal Coronation, with the Pope wearing ‘We’re #1’ foam fingers for the Apostolic Blessing, while the crowds chant, “USA! USA! USA! USA!” – Only to show up on Colbert or Letterman the next time he makes a home visit to the United States.

So obsessed are we with “candidates” and reality type voyeuristic “entertainment” that as I type this right now EWTN’s coverage has said the phrase “American Pope” four times and the word “predict/predictions” nine times in the last 30 minutes. Funny, I don’t recall a mention of the Holy Spirit. Predictions. Predictions. Predictions. Even Cardinal Dolan, God love him, can’t stop predicting.

And people can’t seem to wrap their heads around what exactly a pope can and can’t do once elected. Americans, secular and confused Catholic alike, seem to think an American pope will bring sweeping “change” and finally bring the Church out of the dark ages of women oppression and some other such nonsense that is dripping out of Diane Sawyer’s mouth right now.

Everyone wants to know what the new pope will do for them, much like how we elect our political leaders here in the US. But the pope isn’t a political leader with slick campaign promises. He is a spiritual leader divinely guided by the Holy Spirit. And non-Catholics, political analysts, secularists, and liberals with agendas will never understand that. And that is why I am against an American pope. Americans don’t need to be encouraged further. We are egocentric and arrogant enough.

I have a prediction. I predict that the Holy Spirit will elect whoever It feels is best for the job … if we just shut up long enough to let The Spirit do It’s thang.

After the procession into the Sistine Chapel, which is going on right now – Watch Live – tune into Radio Vatican for their scheduled live streams while they wait for the first fumata.

Related Link: Please, Dear God, Not An American Pope.