There’s been a bit of trouble in the Catholic Diocese of Nashville recently. It all started when a local priest, Father Joe Pat Breen, said that Catholics do not necessarily have to obey the Pope. In a nutshell he said when your conscience tells you otherwise, and you’ve prayed over it and feel you are right, do what your conscience says and it’s between you and God.
Boy, I could do some heavy rationalization on some issues there and convince myself it’s okay…but I digress.
Anyway, it led to the Bishop telling Father Breen he needed to put a lid on it. It does seem a sin that a priest can’t express his views, but that’s another blog.
Some of the issues called into play in this fracas had to do with the Catholic church’s stance on birth control, whether priests can marry or not, etc. Seems many think the church is years behind on some of these issues.
My point here is not to take sides. This is a business blog. The Pope has more money to spend so I’m going to aim this message towards him. I believe what the Pope really needs is a good promotional product campaign! Here’s some suggestions:
• You can’t have a promotional campaign hardly without a pen or pencil. Maybe a pencil with the tag, “The Pope can erase all your sins”?
• Another necessity is a good coffee mug or travel mug. I’d recommend a nice Pope logo on it (whatever that is) with a tag line “The Pope is with you wherever you go, even when you don’t obey him”
• To more address some of the critical issues, such as the church’s stance against birth control. How about a USB flash drive (with the ten commandments preloaded on it) with the message, “Only download for the purpose of recreation.”
• Then there’s the allowing priests to marry issue. That’s a tough one. I’m going to recommend a nice calculator with the imprint “Priests + marriage = more priests”.
• Some good old papal flashlights wouldn’t be bad, “I am the way, the truth, and the light.”
• They could go old-school where the church made you fear the consequences of sin. An apple shaped stress item with the saying, “Not obeying has consequences.”

So I think that would give the Pope a good start on solving some of these current issues. But out of respect for Father Breen, and knowing he would want me to donate something to his cause, here’s a few suggestions for him:
• Maybe a nice soft-sided cooler on wheels with the message, “God Says Just Chill & Love One Another”
• A stress ball that looks like earth that says “God Created Heaven & Earth, Not The Pope”
• And maybe a nice fleece blanket embroidered with, “Priests Could Use More Than A Blanket To Keep Them Warm At Night”.
• Finally, a pink Swiss Army knife with the inscription “Women Are Equipped To Save Too!”
• Or maybe go with some antibacterial hand spray that says, “Women Can Wash Away Sins Too.”

Okay, so I’ve done by tithing by way of service this week. Hope everyone has a blessed day!