WONDER IF… I was the Pope, what changes would I make to the Church?

Here is a fanciful topic. For one thing, any changes I make to the Church would have to come from the compendium of life experiences I have accepted as my assumptions in life. I can’t imagine anything worse than designing a Church based on me. One centered around Christ? Now that’s a different question. I give my opinions about my observations around me.

If I was Pope, I would…

• Realize that being Pope means I recognize that God is not me and that I am not God.
• Realize that I am a teacher with the task of giving my opinion on weighty issues of the day, those grounded in Scripture, and in the continuous traditions and decisions of all the Councils.
• I am not a Lone Ranger who sets out to reform anything other than myself. I give guidance to the Church through the Holy Spirit, as I perceive it.
• I’m not infallible in anything. The Holy Spirit is infallible through me when I use him (only twice so far) to declare something and only when speaking as “Ex Cathedra.”
• I have no power to force anyone to do anything, nor do I desire to do so.
• I must realize that I need mercy from God daily and am in constant need of reparation and humility for lacking in love.
• I don’t issue any edicts unless it is to “Have in you the mind of Christ Jesus,” and to not lose Hope in God, no matter what your life situation is.
• I am the servant of the servants of God and actually behave that way.
• I must continuously stress the wisdom of the Scriptures, Church Fathers, Saints, and Ecumenical Councils and uphold in them what is core, in each age.
• I must read Chapter 4 of the Rule of Benedict each day and strive to become what I read.
• I would stress the Church as the authentic School of Love where we can discover what it means to be fully human by placing The Christ Principle at the center of each person’s life.
• I would ask the Church to pray to the Holy Spirit to convert all of us from our false selves to our true selves as adopted sons and daughters of the Father.
• I would stress not only the WHAT of Religion (The Son) but the WHY (The Father) and HOW to do it in my particular life (The Holy Spirit), each of us will be different but linked to One Lord, One Father, and One Baptism.
• I would preach the folly of the cross, the sign of contradiction, and the embedding of The Creed in how I behave. I would stress that we must “prefer nothing to the love of Christ,” — St. Benedict
• I would urge the Laiy to reform the Church by remaining true to teachings and opening themselves up to the Spirit. As Mary so beautifully stated, “Do what He tells you.”
• I would trust in God alone and not in humans.
• I would long to be in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist and Eucharistic Adoration and teach others to do Lectio Divina and move towards contemplative practices.
• I would unleash the Holy Spirit on the World through the Laity with Clergy being sustainers through Sacraments. I would establish Lay Missionary Institutes in each Country, with coordination and organization through the Conference of Catholic Bishops.
• I would teach that we must be present to Christ by listening with the “ear of the heart,” and then follow the folly.

My mantra would be: Do what he tells you. Oh, and did forget to mention that all the above I gleaned from Pope Francis, the current person who wears the shoes of the Fisherman.

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