5 Reasons Protestants Should Care Who the Pope Is

A very close friend of mine was in a conversation recently with a Protestant friend. Her friend insisted that she has no reason to care who was elected Pope, as "[she's] Protestant and it doesn't affect her." My friend suggested I write a blog post about it and, both because she's a dear friend and because it's my spring break, I have.

The list I've created focuses solely on secular reasons to care about who has been elected Pope. There are obvious religious reasons, such as the fact that the Pope is the Vicar of Christ, that the Pope is the Successor of St. Peter, that the Pope is infallible, etc. Most of these reasons, however, would require a much longer discussion on why they are True (incidentally, check out here, here, and here if religious arguments on the Pope are what you want).

I see, at a minimum, 5 reasons why Protestants should care who the Pope is, what he's like, and what atmosphere he creates:



1. He's the Head of Over 1.2 Billion People
1.2 billion people is a lot. In fact, there are roughly 7.073 billion people in the world. That means that more than 1-in-7 people are Catholic. Anything that affects that many people surely deserves anyone's attention. Evidence? The round-the-clock coverage by news agencies, including 24/7 chimney watch (video coverage of the chimney over the Sistine Chapel, where black smoke indicates no Pope and white smoke indicates a Pope's election).

If 1-in-7 people all contracted the same disease, you'd want to know all you could about it! If 1-in-7 people were all using the same social network, wouldn't you want to find out about it? If 1-in-7 people saw the same movie, wouldn't you want to at least know what it was about?

Something that affects (at least the weekly) lives of so many people deserves anyone's and everyone's attention.

2. He Speaks for all of Christendom
Like it or not, it's true. When the Pope speaks, most people understand his words to be that of all Christians. This was the case, for example, in the lead up to the Iraq War. Pope John Paul II met often with Saddam's representatives, requesting protection for Christians when/if war broke out.

It makes sense that the Pope would be seen as speaking for all of Christianity. After all, all Protestant denominations combined are still less than Catholics. As a result, the majority of Christians are Catholic; purely numerically, whatever the Pope says/does is representative (theoretically) of the majority of Christians.

It should also be understood that, outside Western civilization, most people don't understand the difference between Catholic and Protestant (even some Christians don't really understand the difference). As a result, when such a public Christian speaks, people listen and equate it with that of all other Christians.

Because this is the case, a Protestant needs to know the type of person the Pope is. Is the Pope going to present a message of love and humility to the world, a message of Christian intellectual thought, a message of welcoming? The truth of it is that the Pope has no competition in the Christian world as a unifying voice. Even if the Protestants outnumbered the Catholics, there would be no unifying figurehead that could speak for them. No Protestant has the same megaphone that the Pope does

3. The Pope Sets the Stage for Worldwide Discussion & Debate
Almost every major issue throughout the world involves the Catholic Church in some way. Whether it's poverty (the Catholic Church is the largest food provider in the world), gay marriage, abortion, peace, dialogue with other religions (the Catholic Church leads the pack), or ecumenical dialogue (almost every major inter-Christian dialogue has been spearheaded or involved the Catholic Church, such as Eastern Orthodox-Catholic and Anglican-Catholic dialogue).

You can't have a discussion over religion, theology, social policy, world issues, or inter-religious or inter-Christian dialogue without the same discussion being touched, in some way, by what the Pope has done or said. This came to the forefront at Pope Francis' inaugural Mass, where religious leaders from around the world came to pay their respects.

4. It's Just Plain Interesting & a Matter of History 
The Papacy has been going on for 2000 years, starting with Saint Peter (Matthew 16:18-19). Each Pope has added a new element to not only the Catholic Church, but also has left his own mark on the world and history. Pope John Paul II, for example, helped to bring down the Soviet Union. Pope Paul VI defined and clarified the Catholic position on contraception (and if you don't think that had an affect on our world, just pick up any newspaper. There's bound to be an article or debate about abortion, contraception, etc.). Dignitaries and state representatives flooded into St. Peter's Square to represent their country at the Pope's inauguration, further signifying the Pope's importance in history and current events. 

Besides, how many people will tune into the coronation of the Prince in England when Queen Elizabeth II dies? A lot, and that institution is no where near as long-lasting or large as the Catholic Church. So why will people watch? Because it's an important, interesting, historical moment. Unlike our four year election cycle, Conclaves and new Popes are rare (only 266, including St. Peter) and unscheduled (Pope John Paul I only reigned for 33 days).

5. The Pope's a Celebrity
The Pope, bar none, is a celebrity and a star. He has over 100 million followers on Twitter (the Biebes only has 36 million). The Pope brought out over 500,000 people in Scotland & England when he went to visit in 2010. Former president Bill Clinton, in his autobiography My Life, remarked in amazment at the popularity that Pope John Paul II commanded (he also remarked that he would hate to run in an election against that man). Roughly 300,000 people came to see the Pope's inauguration Mass (not including religious leaders and state representatives).

Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Kate Middleton, and Beyonce don't bring out the crowds or command the same popularity that the Pope does. Someone that has such popularity clearly deserves some notice, even if you're not Catholic.

I'm sure my Catholic friends have more thoughts and ideas on why anyone, including Protestants, should care about who's Pope.