Pope sets bad example

He is the leader of the Catholic Church. A man that pleads for peace, love and social justice. A man that takes much of his teachings and theology from a book called the Bible. A man that has modeled his life after Jesus Christ, who he believes came down to Earth and accepted the sick, the outcasts and the poor. Unfortunately, he is also the man who felt it was time for another new Mercedes-Benz. Not just any Mercedes, mind you. This was a sleek, black Mercedes limousine, complete with white leather interior and mobile telephones.

Reuters news service reported last week that Pope John Paul II took delivery of the new black Mercedes limo, saying it was about time for a new one.

Jochen Prange, chairman of Mercedes-Benz Italia, was reportedly on hand for the presentation at the Vatican where he told reporters that “Popes have become good customers.”

When the leader of a religion that preaches giving to the poor and taking little desire in extravagant objects is known as a great Mercedes customer, there is a problem.

This is the leader of the Catholic faith, the same faith that Nobel Peace Prize winner Mother Teresa practices. Rather than toying with the pomp and circumstance of multiple Mercedes presentations, lounging on white leather or talking on cellular phones, she is out with the poorest of the poor, holding no personal possessions of her own.

She sets a better example of what it means to follow Christian teachings than the shepherd of Catholics around the globe.

In a cliché, she practices what she preaches.

What is the Pope going to do with a limo? Why on Earth does he need it? How does it contribute to his life dedicated service?

Nuns striving to maintain convents, missionaries in rags living in dirt, disease and grime and the homeless searching for food and water would give their right arms for a Fiat, a Volvo or even a bike, but the Pope finds the need for a new Mercedes limo?

While it would not be practical to transport the Pope in an undependable car or even one without bulletproof glass, one must question if the Pope needs a brand new luxury limousine, especially when he already has four other Mercedes in his fleet, reportedly.

What a terrible waste of money that could have been used for more worldly purposes such as feeding the hungry, paying for immunizations for children or building shelters in a third world or war torn country. Missionaries of all denominations are out in these places watching people die of starvation, become casualties of war and fall apart with disease. Rather than put that money where the people of the world so desperately need it, the Pope has contradicted the words “Sell all of your possessions and come follow Me” when he added yet another luxury vehicle to his almighty Mercedes entourage.

When he received the sleek black Mercedes limo, he reportedly told on lookers “Finally a new car,” but what will he tell God when he meets Him in paradise?

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