Great things come out on Tuesdays: new albums, new DVDs and of course, new Popes.

This is a very joyous occasion for many people in the world; the millions of Catholics here in America have a new leader to look up to. I, however, was disappointed in the fact that I was not elected Pope. Perhaps there was a mishap with the paperwork or something.

The important thing about the Pope is that he is a very strong leader, and many people will do just as he says, maybe not as many as in the year 1530, but still many people listen to him. But sadly, Pope Benedict XVI probably won’t do much to modernize the church and the followers of the doctrine.

There are a few main issues with the church that, as a non-Catholic, still bother me, and probably lots of other people. Benedict XVI, as a strong conservative, probably won’t be changing the church’s stance on these issues any time soon.

In the Catholic Church, pre-marital sex is a pretty big no-no, and even after marriage, the only truly acceptable form of birth control is the timing of sex. Well that would make sense and be plausible if people only had sex for reproductive purposes, but as an example, imagine all the sex happening on campus every weekend/weekday/afternoon – none of that sex is for reproductive purposes. The idea that people will have sex merely for reproductive means is entirely not plausible in this day and age.

So it’s going to happen, so why not just endorse condoms? MTV does it, and I guess they get a lot of people, however simpleminded, to listen to them. Maybe if the Catholic Church went that route they could get more people to be Catholics!

Or maybe they don’t want people to use birth control so they can automatically get more Catholics. Either way works for them I guess, but at least with condoms you aren’t getting as many STDs around.

Another issue Benedict XVI certainly won’t budge on is homosexuality. In an age of acceptance and diversity, the Catholic Church is still in its age of condemnation. Gays coming out get enough anger from many places; it doesn’t help that a place that should be a refuge for homosexuals damns them instead.

Well of course one could say if you’re gay then don’t be a Catholic. However that runs the Catholic Church into some trouble, because by using that rationality they would be losing a lot of people.

The new Pope has denounced, along with homosexuality, rock music and liberalism. So then I guess if you like rock music or you’re a Democrat, Green or any kind of liberal, you also shouldn’t be a Catholic.

Now, I’m no sociologist, but I’m pretty sure that makes up a huge portion of the United States and the globe.

How can the Pope hate rock music? There are so many Christian groups that spend their whole lives making sweet, Jesus-loving tunes. Norma Jean and As I Lay Dying are some of my favorite bands, and they’re Christian. I guess they’re actually doing bad work for the Church, not helping to spread the word of Jesus to people who normally wouldn’t listen to it.

Over the past 50 years – natural events notwithstanding – there have been huge declines in churchgoers throughout the world, especially in the United States. But when you look at the Catholic leader, and see that he hates rock music, it makes it pretty obvious why people aren’t going.

I’m not saying that Catholics shouldn’t be pious, but I think that their leadership should realize that everyone is not as hardcore as the Pope in being a Catholic, and that slightly lessening the conservative grip might attract more people, and reverse the outward flow of people from the Church.