In response to the April 21 staff editorial that labels the choice of a new pope as "missing the big picture," I'd like to offer the following response.

The cardinals who elected Benedict didn't follow any "flavor of the month" issue (such as women priests or contraception or gay marriage, for that matter). They followed 2,000 years of history and tradition to pray to God to help each cardinal make his decision for the next pontiff. While the princes of the Church have only been electors of the pope for only about 1,000 years, its reasonable to assume that they know what they're doing.

Further, the new pope knows he isn't going to have half as long a pontificate as his immediate predecessor, and he acknowledges that.

He's a transitional pope, seven years or less.

It seems that the only people missing the big picture is The Marquette Tribune editorial staff.

While liberal Catholic issues such as those listed above can be argued until people are blue in the face, they are minor issues compared to religious persecution (i.e., Christian persecution) in Asia (try to imagine if you weren't allowed to believe in any God or gods you wanted to because the government wouldn't allow it — republicans and democrats would be screaming about that).

It should also be noted that too many times are Catholics picking and choosing what Catholic beliefs he or she chooses to follow. Faith isn't piece-meal, its built upon history, tradition, and scripture, all interwoven with a little bit of mystery. I think more people should realize that fact.

Michael Scarsella is a Marquette alumnus.

This viewpoint appeared in The Marquette Tribune on May 2 2005.