Why The Pope Needs To See St. Vincent

St. Vincent is a story of hope and humor that many will enjoy. However, I was intrigued how the movie used the Catholic church as a backdrop to the story. In fact, I hope the Pope watches this movie to understand why it is important for the church to move forward in the 21st century. There is a disassociation with the church due to the moral crisis that has been neglected for decades by the church leadership. This void has allowed many to forget was is great about the Catholic church.

To understand the moral consequences of the Catholic church failing the flock, we have to travel back to the 20th Century. For many, this century was guided by many Catholic communities in our country, especially in the northeast. People were guided by churches and Catholic schools that had young vibrant priests. Contrary to popular belief, many children grew up with a positive experience from growing up Catholic. Unfortunately, the church crisis of the last 20 years has caused a vacuum in our country. The current and past Popes failed their parishes  and refused to acknowledge the crisis that existed with priests. The Pope lost the confidence of many parishes by sacrificing trust for the protection of deviant priests who committed heinous crimes against humanity. By doing this, the Catholic Church has virtually wiped away the positive aspects of healthy parishes and scared away a generation of Catholic families to their Protestant counterparts. All that is left for many are churches led by men in their 70s, 80s, and 90s.

St. Vincent provides the current Pope a reminder how a healthy parish and school can be a connection to positive Catholic values and teachings. St. Vincent is a modern day Bells of St. Mary's. It connects us to children, learning that the world is not perfect allows them to have empathy. The priest/teacher is a backdrop to help children to the disconnects of our world.

The background of the movie is what makes a Saint. The idea of a "saint" being moral while alive is not absolute. Many saints in fact came from humble roots and rose to the calling of compassion and empathy by examples through a series of tests that life provided them. A calling to God has many roads for saints to travel. In an odd way, the movie explains the very "human" road to saint hood. And, that we have many saints that exist without getting recognition from the church.

The lessons from St. Vincent will be lost by our next generation of children growing up today if the Pope does not reform the church. Hopefully, Pope Francis will realize that St. Vincent is a core value of the church that the Vatican should strive to work towards at the local level. To regain that trust again, many changes will need to happen in the current priesthood that requires hard choices by this Pope. Hopefully, he will realize the value of everyday saints are far more important than the protection of priests that had no business being clergy.