The Progression of Faith

The Pope died on Saturday. Our global death watch is over. He is no longer suffering with the pain of his various ailments. May he rest in peace.

Today, I watched a ceremony during which the Pope's body was borne from the papal apartments to the altar at the Basilica where it will lie in state until the funeral on Friday. It was an amazing site and I was moved by all of the pageantry of the moment. I was also struck by the irony of the images. While the Catholic Church is a global religion that claims 1 billion members, the enduring image in all of this ceremony is that of a white church, despite the fact that many of the newer converts are people of color. As the cardinals plan to meet in the next few weeks to decide on a new Pope, I certainly hope they do something to change that impression.

As the original church of Christ, every Christian faith tradition emanates from Catholicism--it is the essence of Christianity. It is the Catholic Church that created and perpetuated Christian theology and imagery. If Christianity is to remain relevant in this third millineum following the death of Christ, then it is imperative that the Church be the model of inclusiveness and diversity.

The problem is that while Christianity and the Catholic Church represent images of white holiness, the majority of the world consists of people of color. The historic renderings of Christ, His Apostles, and the early church reinforce this notion of a white Creator and a white man's heaven after death. In direct contrast, there is Islam, the fastest growing religion in the world. There are no images of Allah (because it is sinful to depict His image), and people of color represent the predominant image of the faithful Muslim pilgrim. It naturally follows that more people worldwide are attracted to a faith where people of all races and ethnicities are welcome.

I was raised a Christian. I am not a Catholic, although I could have become a Catholic. I chose to become a Baptist instead (nowadays, I am not really a Baptist anymore either). I just believe that images are so powerful as to inform the decisions people make about their faith. I can admit that one of the main reasons why I chose to become a Baptist was because I assumed it was a black religion.

I was educated in the Catholic schools during a time when black Catholics were just beginning to be noticed. At our parish school, the priest allowed us to form a gospel choir. At the parish where my father now serves as a deacon, there is a huge black Jesus painted on the wall overlooking the altar. And like the black Protestant churches, the black Catholic parishes were well-known for holding rocking church services. But none of these developments convinced me that the Catholic church was a welcoming place because it was in Catholic school that I first experienced overt and uncompromising racism (at the hands of holier-than-thou white nuns).

So this is why the Church has a serious image problem. If most of its recent converts hail from Latin America, Asia and Africa, then the future of the Church is on those continents, not in America and certainly not in Europe. One way to secure that future is to select a Pope of color.

I appreciated Pope John Paul II and his ecumenical ministry to the global village. I believe that it was his outreach to all people that made him so beloved a figure across all religious traditions. As I get older and search for more meaning in life, I believe that the Pope's example of compassion to all of humanity is a better expression of faith than the narrow traditions I left behind in my previous churches. His example has informed my journey of faith, as I strive to be more like Jesus. I don't disparage Islam, Judiasm or other world religions--all of us are children of God and if the most prominent Christian on earth can accept the idea of diversity in faith, then so can the rest of us. He embodied the very essence of being Christ-like.

This is the legacy the Pope left the world and his Church. I hope those who are still here were paying attention.