Odessa

Pope Benedict XVI is resigning. Something a Pope hasn't done in centuries. I'm not Catholic, I don't really care what old white haired man wears the pointy hat. They all pretty much do and say the same thing. Blah, blah, blah, same shit, different decade (except for that no more mass in Latin, that was different).

Some people are not as charitable as I am. There are those making vile comments about the resigning Pope. Some are wishing him death or proposing that he will enjoy hell with Hitler. After seeing those comments and tweets, some ask why do people hate Catholics and the head of the Catholic Church so much.

Everybody deserves the right to worship (or not) as they wish. The leader of the Catholic church should matter no more to the rest of us than the leaders of the Mormons, the Seventh Day Adventists, the Jehovah's Witnesses, ect. Somehow the Catholic Church makes sure the Pope does "matter" more. Catholicism gets jammed down our throats. The Vatican tries to get into our lives, Catholic and non-Catholic alike. They try to influence our laws and get exceptions from laws they don't like. That is why so many people hate the Catholic Church.

I'd like to think the Cardinals will pick someone more focused within the Catholic Church, someone who will realize the rest of us would like him to butt out of our lives. Unfortunately I suspect they will select the same kind of meddling old man they have been for centuries. It's just the way it is.