I prayed for the Pope this morning. Me, an avowed agnostic. Me, raised by a mother descended from French Huguenots. She never forgave the Catholic Church for what it did to her ancestors in the 18th century.

Besides, I don’t pray. I don’t “talk to the man upstairs.” I meditate, but I don’t petition an unseen deity to grant my requests. I don’t believe in divine intervention brought about through the pleading of a single individual, or even a whole room full of individuals.

So how come I found myself praying for the head of the Roman Catholic Church? Because this particular man, appearing at this particular time in history, is the stuff of miracles. I can see no other force capable of bringing together the various divergent elements in the world today.

This humble man, one who says stop focusing on fetuses and take care of living children, one who says stop trying to limit loving relationships between individuals and focus on loving and respectful relationships between all people and all nations.

Such a force can change the world. If there was ever a man sent by God, it is he.

Joan King
Sautee

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