Word of the day: "presumption"

As in "condescending presumption" or "ignorant presumption." Brought to you by Tom Ehrich, an Episcopal priest, who opines in the pages of The Indianapolis Star (ht: Sandra Miesel) about the upcoming visit of Pope Benedict XVI:

Millions will parse his every sentence and assign meaning to every gesture.

But I can imagine what his flock needs. In addition to the show, I think people need their pope to help them grapple with today, the real today that extends beyond a global religious franchise.

No doubt, Benedict will receive a thorough briefing on the state of U.S. Catholicism. He'll hear about frustrated bishops, parishes closing for lack of resources and schools for lack of students, a shortage of clergy, restive women seeking leadership, growing pockets of conservatism, Latino immigrants and lagging brand loyalty for all Christian denominations.

The pope could address those trends and simply move on to his next destination. After all, a global leader must have a broad reach.

My recommendation, however, would be for Benedict to take the equivalent of a slow walk through Central Park, away from the crowds, away from needing to perpetuate yesterday, away from managing his persona.

Great suggestion, Tom. Those who are familiar, to one degree or another, with the life and work of Pope Benedict XVI have always been a wee bit concerned about his obsession with properly marketing his global religious franchise and constantly spinning and remaking his complex, enigmatic, and paradoxical persona. Why, the guy just seems so calculating and concerned about not upsetting anyone, or saying anything controversial, or engaging in real conversation with real people about real problems. I think he will be relieved to hear that the answer lies in simply taking a walk, a stroll, a hike. Beautiful.

UPDATE: I see that Timothy Shriver, who is chairman of the Special Olympics, has a different idea about what Pope Benedict XVI should do upon visiting the U.S.:

Benedict XVI's upcoming visit to the U.S. is sure to provoke unfavorable comparisons to his more charismatic predecessor, John Paul II. So it's time for him to change his image. How? The cerebral theologian needs to interrupt his schedule, put on sweat clothes, and drop in on a yoga class when he's in town!

He'd accomplish more than an image upgrade. There, sweating in exercise clothes and sneakers, he'd find growing numbers of Americans who have turned to the ancient Hindu practice for both physical and spiritual centering. The Pope would do well to understand the yoga students and their spiritual lives if he is to be fully successful at communicating the message of the gospel to this nation.

Obviously a controversy is brewing. While Ehrich thinks the Pope shouldn't bother with manipulating his image, Shriver thinks he should both manipulate his image and his body. Ah, the many difficult decisions faced by the CEO of a global religious franchise!

Benedict XVI's upcoming visit to the U.S. is sure to provoke unfavorable comparisons to his more charismatic predecessor, John Paul II. So it's time for him to change his image. How? The cerebral theologian needs to interrupt his schedule, put on sweat clothes, and drop in on a yoga class when he's in town!

He'd accomplish more than an image upgrade. There, sweating in exercise clothes and sneakers, he'd find growing numbers of Americans who have turned to the ancient Hindu practice for both physical and spiritual centering. The Pope would do well to understand the yoga students and their spiritual lives if he is to be fully successful at communicating the message of the gospel to this nation.

Obviously a controversy is brewing. While Ehrich thinks the Pope shouldn't bother with manipulating his image, Shriver thinks he should both manipulate his image and his body. Ah, the many difficult decisions faced by the CEO of a global religious franchise!

Comments

[Rick]

I hope Benedict doesn't have to converse with one Kennedy when he is here.

Tim Shriver, huh? Kennedy seeds of stupidity keep falling rather close to the family tree, don't they! Last I heard, Tim and Uncle Ted liked to don some spandex and sweat to the oldies with Richard Simmons! Why the new yoga fetish when they have that going for them? :-)

[Mark Brumley]

Thanks for this post, Carl.

I have already used Ignatius Press' super secret hotline to the Holy Father to alert him to his need for the yoga session. Our publicity will handle the media. I think Cardinal Bertone will probably accompany the Holy Father. Msgr. Gaenswein will probably be playing tennis with IP's marketing director, Tony Ryan, so don't count on any media coverage of him.

After the yoga session, the Holy Father will join me in some Kung Fu practice.

But of course don't tell anyone ...

[Rick]

Sorry for the sarcasm above about the Kennedy's, bad enough that many of them are openly pro-choice but I just can't believe that someone from such a prominent family could say something so ridiculous!

[Augustine II]

Not surprising. The Kennedys stopped being serious long ago.

[Carl Olson]

Mark: I presume that you and the Holy Father will be exploring some sword sets from the Seven Star Praying Mantis system.

[Thomas]

As a wise philosophy professor at Boston College said to us one day:

"There are lots of Kennedy Catholics. There just aren't a lot of Catholic Kennedys."

[Brian Day]

Carl,
You should create categories to label the posts. One of them should be Mark Shea's category of: The Ever-Falling Religious IQ of the Media