Pope francis, beginning of something good?

now i was raised catholic but by about the age of 6 i saw right through it. I spent many many years in the baptist church chasing my ex wife around too. thats when i began to see a lot of the hypocrisy. i got to see a lot of behind the scenes nonsense, lies, and just plain greed. i really lost hope.

like a lot of you I'm sure your religious views are probably a little more ambiguous then Catholic or baptist or whatever. I hear from a lot of MJ folks that they are "spiritual" but not religious. that works too. I'm sure a lot of the nonsense over the last decade or so helped you not want to be religious.

well from someone who truly hates the church for their lies and deceit i am pretty impressed with this new pope. he's making some moves.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/01/21276285-germanys-embattled-bishop-bling-moves-to-monastery-for-recuperation

A German bishop who was suspended from his diocese over a house renovation that reportedly cost $42.7 million is now spending his days in a decidedly less lavish monastery.

http://poy.time.com/2013/12/11/person-of-the-year-pope-francis-the-peoples-pope/

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



no matter your religious views this is a good thing! regardless of if the golden roads of the afterlife are actually waiting the church has the ability to make THIS LIFE a lot better for MANY MANY people all over the world. with the right hand the catholic church could seriously help.

so from an ole non believing sinner like me: GOOD ON YOU POPE FRANCIS!

I was really impressed with this:

Pope Francis has attempted to dissuade Argentines from making costly trips to Rome for his inaugural Mass next week, suggesting they make a contribution to the poor instead, the Vatican said on Friday.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the pope had called the Vatican ambassador in Buenos Aires on the night he was elected and told him of his wishes.

The new pope had made a similar request to his fellow countrymen when he was made a cardinal in 2001 and Argentina was suffering from the effects of a financial crisis.


I am not religious but, do get a lot from the nondogmatic aspects of Buddhism. I can listen and read anything from the Dalai Lama as well.

I like the guy. Having been compelled to attend and serve Mass seven days a week in my childhood and spending my first year of High School in a Catholic seminary, at thirteen I'd had enough. Being in the choir at the Saginaw Diocese' installation of Bishop Hickey and living with priests day to day I saw the hierarchy at work, much like I found in the corporate world. There was a short stint in a Pentecostal community during a pretty fucked up time in my life and more tangential exposure to other sects. Studying comparative religion in college, a course regarding shamanism and eastern thought, was refreshing. Reading William James' Varieties of Religious Experience (http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/wjames/varieties-rel-exp.pdf), I am finding some pretty good stuff. I find the entire topic incredibly interesting due to its ability to so powerfully compel people, for good or for ill. Any more I see it as an academic topic and can no longer participate actively. I think the most compelling work I've found, and it is not so much defined as religion, is the Tao te Ching (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Te_Ching).

Francis proffers the beatitudes as the message more than commandments. That is, to my mind, the more appropriate approach. His attention to that message closely resembles the liberation theology (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_theology) that was condemned in the seventies by conservatives everywhere, to include the conservative wing of the Church. Some have gone so far to describe him as the Catholic Obama. Even now Rushtard is calling him a marxist. Benedict was always an integral part of that conservatism, loved the pomp and circumstance, and was instrumental for years in covering up the sexual abuse that has become apparent. I am watching this unfold enthusiastically.

An interesting aside is that Michael Moore and I stayed up late watching the 1968 election returns in the seminary freshman lounge. He has always been engaged.