VATICAN MUSEUM
POPE AND PEOPLES HOPE
N.NANDHIVARMAN
The new Pope blesses the
people. All eyes are on his blessing hand. The people see a golden ring, which
carries the picture of fishermen spreading his net to catch. This is one of the
two symbols of papacy. To the tsunami struck fishermen, this symbol reminds
that all Popes care for fishermen. But it draws a biblical reference too. Once
while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gen-nes-‘a-ret, he saw two boats
and fishermen washing their nets because they did not get good catches on that
day. Jesus gets into the boat and tells to Simon “ Put out into the deep water
and let down your nets for a catch”. He obeys and nets good catch, may be by
divine blessing. But this biblical story also stresses the scientific invention
of good catches in deep waters. Simon, the fishermen became the first disciple
of Jesus assuming the name Saint Peter. In remembrance of that it is customary
to give a fishermen ring to the new Pope. A pallium made out of white wool
would also be presented to the newly chosen. That symbolizes the shepherd’s
treading the footsteps of Jesus, who is also known as Good Shepherd. When
Joseph Ratzinger, a 78-year-old German is chosen to lead the 1.1 billion-member
Church these two gifts symbolizes the early composition of the followers of
Christianity. The new Pope is aware of
the challenges in the developing world to declining religious faith in the
West. “ So many currents, ideologies and different ways of thinking” had shaken
the faith of many Christians and the Catholic Church faced an uncertain future
threatened by the rise of Christian sects around the world, Ratzinger said in a
homily.
"Having a clear faith
according to the creed of the Church is often labeled as fundamentalism,"
he said, adding that the Church had to reject "a dictatorship of
relativism" that denied the existence of absolute truths. "An adult
faith is not one that follows tides of trends and the latest novelties. To be
adult and mature the faith must be deeply rooted in friendship with
Christ," he said. If we go back to the pages of the past, the first person
to study the conditions of the origins of Christianity was Frederick Engels. He
pointed out that the “most important condition was the formation of the Roman
empire. The creation of a world monarchy paved the way for a leveling cult. The
Roman conquest brought with it the defeat of the individual states. Its
despotic and violent regime, oppression of the provinces, high taxes and
general absence of civil rights led to apathy and demoralization among the
broad masses, not only the slaves, but also the free population”. It was the
background that remained conducive for the inception of a global religion. Old
religions were tribal and national, hence could not go beyond limited
boundaries. To fulfill this vacuum, the rulers of Roman Empire made some
attempts to create a world religion. Roman government attempted to create the
cult of the emperor’s genius, cult of the guardian of the city of Rome namely
goddess Roma, and the cult of Jupiter Capitolius. All these failed.
A religion of the slaves and oppressed based
on the arrival of a redeemer from their sufferings emerged as many sects. In
the Koran the followers of Jesus Christ are constantly referred to as
Nazarenes. That was probably the original name given to the sect of Jesus’s
followers. Most often his followers called themselves simply believers,
brethren etc, In the beginning only their opponents referred to them as
Christians. Now that global religion faces challenges, which the new Pope
underlines as splitting into many sects, as in the beginning.
The father of Christianity,
a Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria believed that there was a holy
mediator between the God and the material world, the Divine Logos (Word). This
was common idea in Greek idealist philosophy. The divine Logos, Son of God,
became the central figure in Christianity namely Jesus Christ, says Fredrick
Engels. In Hindu religion, the word “OM” resembles the divine logos and the son
of Shiva called Muruga, fits into the Greek concept. These similarities
strengthen the truth that all religions have universal concepts and beliefs.
But Pope must be perturbed
over the religious intolerance that has brought terrorism to the forefront. The
twin towers of America brought down by fundamentalists is the warning signal
that cannot be ignored anymore. Clash of religions, cultures ignited by Osama
Bin Ladens and men of his ilk, is unnecessary, unwarranted and rests on
imaginary and false foundations. All religions emerged to unite people, to
offer solace to the oppressed and to bring love and Peace on earth. Standing at
the cross roads of history, the new Pope outlines his duties in the first words
spoken, which admits the challenges ahead. In Pope, people hope, movements to
global peace and equanimity eschewing enmity among fellow human beings will
find support and leadership.
Courtesy: The New Indian
Express: 2005
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