"Pick-a-Pope": the game EVERYBODY plays!

Every once in a while, someone (usually a non-Catholic) will say to us, "Do you believe in the pope?"

Now there’s a very subtle presumption behind that question, and we need to be aware of it. The presumption is that if you don’t accept the authority of the Holy Father in Rome (currently John Paul II), then you don’t believe in a pope. But that’s not true! It’s my contention that EVERYONE has a pope! Presbyterians have a pope; Anglicans have a pope; Baptists have a pope; people who call themselves "non-denominational" have a pope; Muslims, Buddhists and even atheists have a pope!

That’s because everyone has an authority who guides them, who defines the meaning of human existence for them, and who teaches them right from wrong. So the real question is not, "Do you believe in the pope?" The real question is, "Which pope do you believe in?"

In this regard, there are a number of possibilities. For example, there’s what I would call the "Feel-Good Pope." Those who follow him live almost exclusively by their emotions. If it feels good, then in their estimation it must be okay. Or how about the "Gallup Pope?" He’s named after the famous poll-taker. Those who follow him form their views and attitudes based on what the majority says. Thus if 85% of Catholics polled say they think artificial contraception is morally acceptable, those who follow the Gallup Pope immediately add their names to the 85%.

A very popular pope among young people today is what I would call the "Peer Pope." He lives, and acts, and speaks through their friends. Whatever these friends say, is considered to be the truth.

Or how about the "Pop Pope?" (Try saying that one quickly 10 times!) Those who follow the Pop Pope are those who are unduly influenced by the ideas of contemporary "pop" culture—ideas which come through the music, the media, the press, the actors and actress and sports heroes, and the self-help gurus.

Now those are just some of the possibilities. Believe it or not, other possible popes even include some Protestant evangelists and theologians. Think, for example, of how many people follow Billy Graham as if he were the authoritative interpreter of God’s Word! These people would deny that they believe in a pope; and yet, they listen to Graham as if he were God’s appointed mouthpiece here on earth. Consequently they obey him as good Catholics will obey the Holy Father.

Everybody has a pope, whether they’re conscious of it or not. That’s why I began my homily by saying, "Pick-a-Pope: the game EVERYBODY plays!"

So, which pope do you pick?

Personally, I want to pick the pope that Jesus Christ picked. Because that’s the right pope! In today’s Gospel text from Matthew 16, we see Jesus making his choice. He says to Peter, "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build by Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it." Here Jesus gives papal authority to Peter—the authority of "spiritual fatherhood" in his Church. And then Jesus indicates that this authority is to be passed on to others in the future when he says, "I give you [Peter] the keys to the kingdom of heaven." In Isaiah 22 (the text we heard in our first reading today) the "keys" symbolized dynastic authority—authority which would be passed on from one person to another. The authority Eliakim received in the kingdom of David was the authority of an established office. And so it is with the papacy. Peter’s authority didn’t die when he did. It was passed on to Linus, then to Cletus and Clement . . . and finally to John Paul II.

So you see, contrary to what some non-Catholics would have us believe, the Church didn’t "invent" the Catholic papacy—Jesus did!