MASSACHUSETTS
Telegram & Gazette
By Susan Spencer TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
susan.spencer@telegram.com
Will the next leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics bring more of the same or is it time for a change?
As Central Massachusetts Catholics last week observed the beginning of Lent, the six weeks leading to Easter, they grappled with the unexpected announcement last Monday of Pope Benedict XVI’s plan to resign at the end of the month, and the implication for the church’s future.
“I’m just as surprised as anyone else. I didn’t think popes could retire,” said Pat Olsen of Rutland, on her way to Ash Wednesday Mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul in Worcester. …
In looking toward the next leader, views ranged from a desire to carry on in the same vein as Pope Benedict and his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, to wanting to reach out more to youth and being open to ordaining women, gays and married priests.
Ms. Olsen said, “We hope that they choose somebody who would be progressive and responsive to the needs of the younger generation.”
Rommy Medrano of Worcester, a Dominican Republic native who attends St. Paul’s, said she wished the new pope would move the church in a positive direction, moving beyond the specter of the worldwide sex abuse crisis to focus on the good work the church does. …
Chris Beggs of Milford said: “The pope has had a lot to contend with, with all the sexual abuse going on … Anyone who becomes pope will have to handle that. That takes a lot of stress.
“I think he (the next pope) should be younger so he can relate to the younger people who have fallen away from the church.”
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