Despite Pope Benedict XVI’s recent retirement announcement, Carbondale’s faithful Catholics say they are positive for the religion’s future.

Benedict XVI, who announced his retirement Monday, became the first pope to do so in nearly 600 years. Father Larry Lemay, SIU Newman Catholic Student Center chaplain, said followers should pray and trust the church to choose a new leader.

“After all is said and done, it’s the College of Cardinals that elect a pope, and we just have to rely on their sound wisdom,” he said.

Lemay said the Newman Center will not be affected because the church is not solely dependent on one person to function unless something drastic happens such as the revision of church doctrine. Lemay said he applauds the pope for having courage to admit his inability to perform his duties because of age, he said.

Father Bob Flannery, pastor of Carbondale’s St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, said he thinks the pope’s resignation was a smart move, as Benedict XVI was the fourth oldest ever elected.

“He knows health-wise and age-wise he just couldn’t give it as much as he’d like to, and he knows that the church deserves better than that,” he said. “I think it is wise and I think a good precedent for future popes to realize that it doesn’t need to be until death.”

Flannery said he thinks the church needs to find a balanced leader.

“A balance is always important, that we’re not just looking at reactionary types of leaders in anything, that there is a balance that respects the tradition of the church but also is aware of the needs of the present church to society,” he said. “It doesn’t mean we give up any of our principles, but that we are a compassionate church and are reaching out to all of its members.”

Carbondale residents and students of different religions have varied church progression opinions.

Desmond Frost, a sophomore from Yorkshire, England, studying law, said he understands the pope’s eventual retirement.

“As a conservative Catholic, I have had high hopes for (Benedict XVI),” he said. “I think he’s brought the church back to its more renaissance roots, but he does have health problems. He does have a pacemaker.”

Frost said the situation is strange, though, because popes usually don’t resign. However, he said he does not think this is the church’s end.

He said it is admirable for the pope to admit he is only human when he is told otherwise by nearly the entire religion.

Laura Becerra, a Carbondale resident and SIU graduate, said the pope’s announcement was a surprise, but it is an opportunity for the church to diversify.

“It’d be nice to have some more diversity, maybe someone with a Latin background,” she said. “Just somebody with a different background would be nice to see.”

As the Catholic Church faces numerous scandals, Lemay said he believes faith still matters — even to younger individuals.

“I don’t know how it manifests itself, but I think from just a short period of time here I’ve found a number of college students whose faith really is very relevant to them and very important to them,” he said.

Flannery said many people still see faith as an important part of their lives.

“I think people are spiritual, and I still think there are quite a few that believe in the role of the church and religion in terms of helping to guide them not just as individuals, but also as a body of believers as we try to make a difference in the world and society,” he said.

Flannery said college students packed St. Xavier’s Ash Wednesday mass, which is a trend he sees every year.

Frost said he isn’t a perfect person, but he believes religion is important.

“If we get a new pope in with the proper ideology and the proper philosophical stance on where the church stands contemporarily, I think that would be amazing,” he said.

Joe Fry, an Agnostic Carbondale local, said he thinks religion should still be important to everyone, including children.

“It may not be as important as it used to be, but it should be important still to the youth,” he said.

Matt Daray can be reached at [email protected] 

or 536-3311 ext. 255.