Pope Francis is cool, but Catholic Church still leaves me cold

Compared to his predecessor, Pope Francis is a breath of religious fresh air.

After reading TIME magazine's cover story (Francis is Person of the Year) I came away with fairly positive feelings about the new leader of the Catholic Church.

But what makes this Pope so important is the speed with which he has captured the imaginations of millions who had given up on hoping for the church at all. People weary of the endless parsing of sexual ethics, the buck-passing infighting over lines of authority when all the while (to borrow from Milton), “the hungry Sheep look up, and are not fed.”

In a matter of months, Francis has elevated the healing mission of the church—the church as servant and comforter of hurting people in an often harsh world—above the doctrinal police work so important to his recent predecessors. John Paul II and Benedict XVI were professors of theology. Francis is a former janitor, nightclub bouncer, chemical technician and literature teacher.

And behind his self-effacing facade, he is a very canny operator. He makes masterly use of 21st century tools to perform his 1st century office. He is photographed washing the feet of female convicts, posing for selfies with young visitors to the Vatican, embracing a man with a deformed face.

He is quoted saying of women who consider abortion because of poverty or rape, “Who can remain unmoved before such painful situations?” Of gay people: “If a homosexual person is of good will and is in search of God, I am no one to judge.” To divorced and remarried Catholics who are, by rule, forbidden from taking Communion, he says that this crucial rite “is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.”

However, religiosity still rubs me the wrong way. Big time. 

Pope Francis is appealing because the Catholic Church has been on such a downer, just about any change in leadership style would be an improvement. He's like a football coach who takes over a team that just went 0-10, and manages to have a 2-8 season.

Not yet a winner. Just doing better than the previous coach.

The cover story says that Pope Francis still rejects the notion of women serving as priests. Along with gay marriage, abortion rights, and other social policies that have become widely accepted in this country.

And so Francis signals great change while giving the same answers to the uncomfortable questions.

On the question of female priests: “We need to work harder to develop a profound theology of the woman.” Which means: no. No to abortion, because an individual life begins at conception. No to gay marriage, because the male-female bond is established by God.

“The teaching of the church … is clear,” he has said, “and I am a son of the church, but”—and here he adds his prayer for himself—“it is not necessary to talk about those issues all the time.”

Sure, the teaching of the Catholic Church on these issues is clear. Idiotically clear.

If anyone other than a religious believer were to come down on the side of discriminating against women and homosexuals, most people would call that person a bigot.

But in the Catholic Church, you get to be Pope. 

This is one of the most disturbing aspects of how society treats religiosity: as a free pass for holding beliefs that otherwise would be seen as repugnant.

Why should someone holding certain disturbing religious beliefs be viewed more positively than some non-religious person who has the same beliefs? 

If a CEO of a major corporation said, "No woman is ever going to have a leadership position here," he would be roundly and appropriately chastized for such an outrageous statement. Yet, when Pope Francis says the same thing, no big deal.

By no means is Francis supportive of homosexuality or gay rights. American society, though, increasingly is. My state, Oregon, likely will overturn a voter-approved ban on gay marriage next year. Attitudes are rapidly changing. 

A reality TV ("Duck Dynasty") star has been suspended from the show for making anti-gay remarks. Yet the Catholic Church, along with many other religions, remains steadfastly opposed to treating homosexuals and heterosexuals equally.

Somehow bigotry in the name of religion is OK, while bigotry for other reasons isn't.

I'll believe that Pope Francis is truly concerned about helping the oppressed and down-trodden when he comes out strong for women's rights and gay rights. 

Comments

[jesse]

Your uncritical acceptance of simplistic 'liberalisms' strike me as being a continuation of a religious mindset, but instead of applying them to a deity you apply them to politics and a predefined set of social topics of the day as handed down by the real gods- those who shape mass consciousness through media.

[cc]

My guess is that TIME chose the Pope as Person of the Year because the magazine's biggest buyers of advertising space didn't want to be associated with the obvious choice, Edward Snowden.

[Ultra Monk]

Agreed about the Church.

[Brian Hines]

Jesse, wow. So you believe equal rights for women and gays are part of a "religious mind set"?

Guess you don't know much about what is happening in secular democratic societies.

There is nothing supernatural or faith-based in coming to a conclusion that people who are "born that way" should have equal rights with people born another way.

Or, even if in some cases (not sure at all about this) homosexuality is a freely willed choice, that choice shouldn't be treated by society in the same way as we treat people who choose to be heterosexual (again, assuming this ever happens or is possible).

You might want to educate yourself about how nature determines whether a baby is born male or female, and the current research regarding how a person's sexual orientation is determined.

[Gene]

If you had a neighbor who openly condemned homosexuals, saw women as second class citizens, thought it better for the poor to suffer and die with AIDS rather than use condoms, refuses to condemn rapists and pedophiles, claims that he often eats human flesh and drinks human blood, uses guilt and threat of punishment to control people and take their money, do you think you could ever say about this neighbor: "My neighbor is cool, but his house still leaves me cold"?

"If it's in the name of god it has a social license. Well 'fuck that' is what I say." Christopher Hitchens

[munish vazirani]

D new pope seems like a great guy..though I do not know too much about christainity since I have been born and broughtup in delhi and a shiv follower myself he seems to be open minded and a down to earth person..congrats to d church!!