Saturday, April 02, 2005

The Pope

As I write this, the Pope is close to death. His life has affected all of us on this globe, not just Catholics. I'm not a member of the Catholic faith, but when John Paul came to be Pope, after such a short time by his predecessor, my best friend was Catholic. It was such a huge event to her and I've never forgotten that.

It was the first time we had experienced this, because we had been too young when the previous Pope had been selected. Then, we experienced it twice in a very short amount of time.

I'm touched that the Pope has elected to remain in his residence, knowing that he has no hope without aggressive antibiotic treatment, and minimal even then. He is ending his life with dignity. Reports are that he has been peaceful and serene and conscious - praying and being read to - and accepting. It seems like as beautiful a death as one can hope for.

He is being allowed to exit this world as he wishes, as God wishes, with no one fighting over his choices.