Regarding the column by Raffaello Colasante, “Our Late Pope Was Not Without His Flaws,” (Daily Nexus, April 5) – while he surely had time on his hands for scripting that awful diatribe about his inscrutable dislike of the Roman Catholic Church and its leaders, let’s at least pause and remind ourselves that he is, of course, a computer science major and woefully ignorant about anything non-bit driven. His attack on the late pope’s liberalness is amazingly evident in his own mocking ‘revelations’ and penny research.

While the Church indeed has flaws like all humans do – yes, that includes you, Raffaello – it has survived through the ages because it has been embraced by millions and millions of believers who fathom ideas not with sarcastic leanings, but with sincere convictions. While this may be foreign to Raffaello, since he is only satiated by Boolean tables and the like, it would behoove him to read more history, meet more people of different races and creed and refrain from pointing out conveniently agenda-driven historical events. The world of religion, unfortunately, is still a product of man, and as such will always be scrutinized with different morals and opinions. Groups of men who minister their religions have their own purposes for spreading their faith. Faith is something that will never be explained in asynchronous or logic-based algorithms, which to some is the only way to life. Faith requires the desire to experience one’s own value in this universe and to a higher being that does not need some man-made standards made convenient by current times.

If we count the enormously and equally compassionate deeds that Pope John Paul II performed during his tenure, I’m sure that this number has amazingly surpassed even minor points of discourse that seem to bring our software boy much ill intention. Just remind yourselves of all the tragedies and natural cataclysms that have happened lately; for him to equate the suffering of many to his ignominious dislike of Catholicism smacks of unbalanced education and hate mongering.

I will not try to even dispute his own findings and will take it on ‘faith’ that he has surely done his research. But the pope merely reiterated the Catholic Church’s longstanding views on homosexuality, on abstinence before marriage, on celibacy and on the need for world peace and the abhorrent nature of war. These are long standing ideals that the Church has kept and which have kept it going for the last couple of millennia and into its third. Is it any wonder why such group of leaders and followers stayed on course? It is called believing what is right, and not kowtowing to what is convenient. It is called believing what is just, and not being swayed by current ‘fashions’ or the lifestyle du jour. Raffaello conveniently left out the Church’s numerous works to help the poor, the weak, the hungry and victims of violence all over the world, from all sectors of life. His attack on the Church’s firm convictions is unfortunately rooted in his upbringing. Hopefully when he gets a little older, he will begin to realize that the world does not revolve around him, but around a bigger audience. It is our job as Christians to illuminate the Raffaellos and help them seek their purpose in life devoid of hate and without fear. In life, there is a higher purpose.

In death, we are all the same.

Bert Viloria is a UCSB alumnus from the class of 1987.