Columnist Lenny Lither needs to do his homework. Lither makes the arguments that the Catholic church made a mistake in its selection of the current pope. He apparently knows better than the hundreds of cardinals in Rome, each of whom have lived far longer than Lither. Lither suggests that the changing times require a Pope who changes right along with it. On the premise that God is real and religion is a God-created institution then changes are not to be made by mankind, but by God. Additionally, if the ideas of mankind are changing, and God is timeless and never-changing, then would it be better for mankind to adapt to God, or for God to adapt to man? Social movements not excepting. Along the idea that God actually instituted religion, is it up to man to change God’s ways? If God wants males only to have the priesthood, what is mankind to argue? If God is not supreme, is God then an equal to man? By voting along on a conservative agenda, what the church has done is to continue on the same path it has been on for 2,000 years. This is stability. The church is choosing to not be turned and pushed by the winds. I mourn for a church that does what is popular, rather than what is right. Furthermore, Lither seems to equate voting for a non-European pope with a pope whose ideas would be liberal, more modern. Who is to say that if the new pope came from Brazil that his ideas would be any more traditional (conservative, in Lither’s words) than the current pope? Could it be that traditional views are held by many non-Europeans? Lither criticizes the cardinals for selecting an older man to be pope who is likely to die in a small number of years. Benedict XVI is the 265th pope. Given that the Catholic church draws it roots to Peter, in 2,000 years that gives us the average of 7.5 years for a pontiff. It is a well-known fact that John Paul’s 26 yr. reign was atypical, his reign being the 3rd longest in the history of the church. Is Lither criticizing the church for failing to ensure that we will have another 25 year reign though it has only happened 3 times in 2,000 years? Lither also makes the assumption that if the priests and bishops were married then the sex scandals would not have occurred. Certainly no married man has never committed a crime. As if. Pedophiles and abusers are not limited to the demographic of those who do not get casual sex. An exchange of ideas are a necessary part to democracy, but democracy is better served if the speakers know what they are talking about.