The Pope’s messages are more important than his religion
Dear Editor,
This letter is addressed to San Diego LGBT Weekly publisher Stampp Corbin.
So I can better understand from where you’re coming, please indulge me and tell me what your religious preference is? Obviously you’re not Catholic, so are you a Protestant or an atheist? And if you’re a Protestant which denomination do you embrace?
I’ve enlisted sentences from your piece about Political Leadership (Message from our Publisher – San Diego LGBT Weekly, Oct. 1, issue 183.) You make numerous assertions to which I would like to respond. Your words are written in italics.
“Pope Francis was able to take Donald Trump out of the relevant news cycle for a week.” Yes, and what a relief it was! You say religion was allowed to take over our country for a week … but then you pointedly mention it was the Catholic religion that had done so. What’s your concern here, religion per se or Catholicism?
You point out that the dominant faith in this country in Protestantism. I agree, and would say that of the Protestant religions in this country the Southern Baptists are the most numerous and the most fundamental. Protestantism has always been a decentralized religion as it compares to Catholicism. Sure, each of the Protestant religions has their hierarchies, but collectively they don’t. You’re right; the difference between Protestantism and Catholicism is organizational. So what?
You mention that Protestants collectively “dwarf” Catholics in the U.S. But you should have also mentioned that Protestants are collectively “dwarfed” by Catholicism worldwide. Size, organization and worldwide influence do make a difference to heads of states. Perhaps, what we’re seeing from you is disdain that Protestantism is being “upstaged” by the Pope. Perhaps, when you say, “I do not think the Pope should have been shoved down the collective American throat on every news and entertainment channel,” you really mean Catholicism shouldn’t have been the source of that throat shoving. Envy amongst religions is nothing new. That’s why I want to know about your religious affiliation. Are your opinions impartial as you would have us to believe, or do they simply represent religious bias? By the way, I was aware China’s head of state Xi Jinping was in town and I thought his coverage in the news media was adequate. You said, “Whatever you think of the Pope’s visit, you can’t say it was not effective.” I agree, and that’s what’s important here. This Pope is a world recognized leader espousing good messages to which I agree. To me, his religion is irrelevant.
ANTHONY WEBB
San Diego
