Papal Election

       Many issues will spur the decision of the Cardinals throughout the world in electing the new pope. A primary issue that I have the most knowledge about is the sex abuse scandal in the Church. I recently watched a documentary on the severity of the Church's lack of punishment for priests accused of sex abuse. The documentary told of how they would hide the priests or put them into therapy, and instead of keeping them away from children, they would simply relocate the priests to different parishes. This issue needs to be addressed immediately if we wish to keep damaging the lives of young men and women of the Catholic faith. I think the future of the church needs a leader that will stand up and face issues that are controversial rather than ignore and hide them. The new pope has to be a leader that is strong in character, respects all religions, and works to improve the Church. There is a dwindling of participation in religious life so the future Pope will need to encourage more entrance into the religious vocation.
        Women in the Church can be involved in the preparing of the gifts, becoming sisters, the choir, and coordinating church activities. However unlike other religions, women cannot become priests and head mass. Women in the Church need a larger voice because Church tradition has been that the male is the main presider of the Church and the mass. If I could change one thing about the Church, it would be its lack of flexibility. Although the Bible is a primary aspect of Catholicism, sometimes I think the Church interprets its writings too extremely, such as with gay marriage.
         I think there is somewhat of democracy in the Church, but it still seems very fixed in the ways of old times and focused on preserving tradition. Sometimes tradition is important, but also we need to be more flexible. The Holy Spirit guides priests, nuns, and lay people in making decisions.