Making the right choices

By Tony Staley
Compass Editor

	Related articles from this week: • Bishop in square for pick • Pope Benedict XVI to lead church • Foundations of Faith --    One special ring belongs to the Holy Father • Editorial -- Speculation fever

The pope has a three-fold mission as spiritual, moral and administrative leader of the church as priest, teacher and governor. Pope John Paul II excelled at the first two, but not at the last.

To say that he could not excel at all three is not to make light of what he did do. But it is important to recognize the scope of the papal office and the limits of whomever occupies that office.

No one person has it all. Popes, after all, are like everyone else - only human.

No person or a business can have it all. Indeed, it's commonly said of businesses that there are three key factors: Quality, service and price. You can have two, but never all three, so pick the two that matter most.

If businesses can only manage two, we should not expect more of our pope - or any other leader or individual. The trick is determining which two factors are the most important, then prayerfully making the best choice possible based on that.