Arguing to elect a pope

IT was girl power as females dominated the competition in the ninth Datuk CQ Teo Debate Challenge at KDU University College recently.

The two all-girl teams from Tunku Kurshiah College (TKC) and SMK Assunta, Petaling Jaya, beat their peers in the semi-finals and went head to head in the finals on the topic — this house believes that the people and not the cardinals should elect the pope — with TKC emerging champs.

The team from TKC consisted of Marina Mohd Hamdan, 16, Ira Zalis Ismail, 17, and Ilmira Murni Mohd Hareeff, 17.

TKC, who formed the government, proposed a three-step mechanism to electing a pope.

First, the cardinals would select five candidates who would then prepare their respective portfolios. The people would vote based on the contents of these portfolios.

“The pope makes decisions for people within the Catholic church and these decisions affect the people,” said first speaker Ira Zalis Ismail.

She added that allowing people to vote also made them take responsibility for the decisions that the elected pope would make.

“People will feel closer to their religion and closer to God,” she said.

With the debate in full swing from the very start, the other speakers from both sides took their turns to rebut previous arguments and provide their own reasons to support or oppose the motion.

While the opposing team of Dhivyaa N. Mailvaganam, 17, Laaviny Nair, 17, and their teammate, 17, argued that the election of the pope needed to be done by the cardinals so that the religion would not be diluted, the government said that opening the vote to the public would encourage more trust within the church.

Both sides were passionate, the opposition more so because of their Catholic background.

“While the whole world changes, my religion stays the same. That’s what I find comfort in,” said the opposition team's third speaker.

“Will the Catholic church maintain what it stands for?” she asked in her argument.

In the opposition’s reply speech, they reiterated that the proposal for the people to vote for the pope was unnecessary as “discussions and debates already happened within the status quo”.

They also added that personal interaction with the pope was needed for the people to vote wisely and since this was limited to the cardinals, they would be in a better position to elect the pope.

They reminded the audience that the pope was still human and subject to human behaviour, which created a probability for harm and that people should not be encouraged to follow a specific religion.

“It’s supposed to be intrinsic,” said Laaviny.

The reply speech from the government was brief.

Ilmira Murni Mohd Hareeff, who also won best speaker, had only three points.

“Religion does change to suit society,” she reminded the audience, adding that the pope’s job was to guide this process.

She added that having the pope elected by commoners would make the pope interact with as many people as he could.

“When people have the chance to change the system, they will be more devout. Religion needs to expand to include actual people on the ground.”

Up to 60 teams from 60 different schools took part in the three-day event this year.

The annual event aimed to promote the spread of English among secondary school students and provide a platform for students to enhance their communication skills.