An audience with the Pope

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silmcoach
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An audience with the Pope

Post by silmcoach »

I was quite moved by the wisdom of the Pope. The BBC program 'Pilgrimage' followed the journey of a small group of personalities along the Via Francigena, a pilgrimage route from Canterbury to Rome.

The motley group was comprised of believers and non-believers, of different faiths, walks, and ways of life. Before their audience with the Pope one of the group explained that because of his way of life he had his doubts about attending, but he did.

Relating the loss of his mother and sister, who were both religious, and his being non-religious, he explained to the Pope that for him the pilgrimage was about looking for answers and faith, but as a gay man he did not feel accepted. The Pope had first said:

'Life is a journey, whether you walk with or without faith, it is a human pilgrimage that is even greater than the Via Francigena pilgrimage.'

In reply to the question the Pope said, 'Giving more importance to the adjective rather than the noun, this is not good.' [I am assuming 'man' is the noun, and adjective 'gay']

He continued, 'We are all human beings and have dignity. It does not matter who you are or how you live your life, you do not lose your dignity. There are people that prefer to select or discard people, because of the adjective. These people do not have a human heart. I feel myself among brothers and sisters, and I have not asked any of you what your faith or belief is, because you have a basic faith in humanity. For those of you who are believers, please pray for me. For those of you who do not believe, could you wish me a good journey so that I do not let anyone down.' As the Pope left he hugged each and everyone.

Ideally, the virtues of a good spiritual leader should percolate throughout the flock. Sadly, that is not always the case.

Pilgrimage: The Road to Rome: Episode 3. BBC Two. First shown 19 April 2019.
silmcoach
Greatest wealth - happy heart, peace of mind :D
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