High school students weigh in on change within Catholic Church



MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The search is on for the next pope, and the next generation of Catholics is looking for a change, but the change they want is not as radical as you may think. FOX6 News spoke with students at Marquette University High School following Pope Benedict XVI's announcement Monday morning, February 11th.

"In my mind, this pope would be someone who can unify the Catholic Church. Everyone has a different view on everything, but also be committed to staying true to who the church," MUHS Senior Michael Malucha said.

They're young, but each student made clear they don't want any major changes to the church's dogma.

"Even though the world is changing faster, we still have all our history behind us and that affects us every single day," MUHS Junior Redmond Tuttle said.

In addition to embracing tradition, the students also want a pope who's bold -- one who speaks out against injustice everywhere -- including when it happens within the church.

"Just as a young person looking at this, saying, yes we messed up but that's going to inhibit us or stop us from saying here's our message and it's still relevant and the mistakes made by men and lay people who work for the church don't take away from the message," Tuttle said.

Students want that message to emphasize love and a commitment to principles that date back thousands of years and hundreds of popes.

Students also say they're proud of Pope Benedict XVI for stepping down because he felt it was best for the church. While they don't want it to become a tradition, they hope future popes will resign if they believe their health or anything else is keeping them from effectively leading the church.

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