I was reading Alan Creech’s interesting blog today and read something he quoted from the newly ordained Joseph Ratzinger, now known to the world as Pope Benedict XVI. He is quoted as saying …

"All of us long for a pentecostal church: a church in which the Spirit rules, and not the letter; a church in which understanding breaks down the fences we erect against each other. We are impatient with a church which seems so unpentecostal, so unspiritual, so narrow and fearful."

If the Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church recognises our need for such a church, maybe we’re further along than I thought. Or perhaps he, like so many of us, is sharing a dream, but remains unwilling to rock the religious boat or to make a stand that could change the face of (little c) catholicity for generations to come.

Having said that, the fact that men with the influence of Pope Benedict XVI are thinking this way gives me a great deal of hope for the church’s future. It’s kind of comforting to think that in some way we are of the same heart and mind in this regard. Now if only we could get some of our Protestant leaders to start thinking this way ……..