I am going to miss the Pope. That may sound strange coming from a non-Catholic. I never related to a Pope before. But ever since Pope Francis came on the scene, I have loved him and felt like he belonged to me, to all of us--not just Catholics.

Southern Baptists, at least the brand I grew up with, have a weird relationship with Catholicism. We agree with Catholics about abortion, that it is murder, and stand strong together under the banner of "pro-life." However, we cannot abide the drinking and partying that goes on in Catholic life.

I am from Ozark, a few miles away from Altus, and never visited a winery or appreciated the interior of St. Mary's Catholic Church with its exquisite stained-glass windows until I was an adult. What I recognize now as Arkansas treasures, the wineries and the church that are central to a dynamic Catholic community literally within my home community, were not important to me before because they were not important to my family or social circle, which mostly consisted of Southern Baptists.

I had friends who were Catholic, but the church and its culture as a whole, I sensed, were somewhat suspect. Christians, yes. Like us? No.........

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