Pope Francis, Another Zealot?
Homosexuality is still a sin. He tells people to respect homosexuals, but whent the Argintinian government is going to make sam-sex marriage legal he says, "Let's not be naive, we're not talking about a simple political battle; it is a destructive pretension against the plan of God. We are not talking about a mere bill, but rather a machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God."
During his early life he gave up all his fancy posetions (personal cook, facy place to live, chauffeured limo) and made a pledge of poverty. This sounds awefully noble right? Wrong, look at why he had those things to start out with (because he was a cardinal). Think about what the Bible verson of Jesus would have done. He probably wouldn't have even considered giving those things out to preachers of his word anyway. So denying riches should be something that cardinals and popes HAVE to do an shouldn't be praised for. By the way, the pledge of poverty meant that he just had to live like everyone else in the community (what a saint -- sarcasm)
Lastly, there was a criminal complaint filed against him by a human rights lawyer for the abduction of two Jesuit priests. However, there was no evidence to prove that he had anything to do with it. :)
Please leave your thoughts and comments on the new pope
Tags: argentina, atheism, catholic, christian, church, corruption, francis, pope, power, religion, More…
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Strega on -
Oh well, have a nice time, I hope your new pope works out for you. Good luck with all that.
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Permalink Reply by Kairan Nierde on -
Never before have I encountered an apologist who defends sheltering pedophiles. I hope you don't teach ethics!
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Permalink Reply by Stutz on -
There is no "Institution of American higher education", but there definitely is a Penn State and it was punished, at least, by the NCAA which found problems with the culture of the athletic department itself, as outlined in the Freeh report. A "few senior members" can have a wide and deep effect on an institution's culture that infects many within the organization.
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Permalink Reply by Professor Robert on -
I would agree with that. Leadership matters a great deal in human social structures. That's why I think this leadership choice is an interesting one. In many ways, he was the better choice 8 years ago as well, to my mind.
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Permalink Reply by kOrsan on -
In many ways, he was the better choice
Because this one said that gays adopting children is a discrimination against children? Or because the last one shielded child rapists?
Either way, brilliant people you got there to lead you.
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Permalink Reply by Real Life James Bond on -
You all need to slow your rolls. He isn't defending raping children, please try to read what each other has to say more carefully before jumping the gun to insult one another. You don't have to agree, but be civil.
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Permalink Reply by Heather Spoonheim on -
Maybe you should read what he is saying:
"That is sadly enough a common occurrence in most youth work..."
This is the standard line Catholics have been taking for a while - that this is a secular problem that occurs everywhere. John the Rat even went so far as to suggest that western culture no longer found child pornography objectionable and then suggested that the church was only taking 'our' lead.
If he wants to suggest that all schools, summer camps, and youth programs are riddled with buggery then he either needs to back that up with some empirical evidence or expect to be called sick and twisted for thinking that ass raping children is normal.
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Permalink Reply by Real Life James Bond on
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Well I need you to cite some evidence for me. Where did Robert say "ass raping children is normal", or "sexual abuse is normal"? All he said was that it happens.
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Permalink Reply by Heather Spoonheim on
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Define normal, please.
Something that happens in most instances is considered the norm - or normal. He seems to think sexual abuse and systematic cover-ups are the norm. My language may be inciting, but the point remains the same. He euphemises and I dysphemise for balance.
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Permalink Reply by Real Life James Bond on
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You are taking him out of context. If you wana go that rout, fine, lets look at statistics.
FACT: 207,754 people are sexually assaulted in the US every year and 54% of sexual assaults go unreported to the police. 44% of the 207,754 REPORTED cases are under 18.
So this is clearly not just a church thing. 91,412 kids don't all get raped in churches, so this does happen with some degree of frequency.
http://www.rainn.org/statistics -
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Permalink Reply by Heather Spoonheim on
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Apples and oranges. You have not even addressed where these children are abused. Are you insinuating all these cases of abuse happen in institutions that have garnered a position of trust with the families - like schools, youth groups, sports teams, etc?
It's been my experience that most sexual molestations are perpetrated by someone who has gained the trust of the family, either by being a member of the family or inserting themselves into the family relationship (counselors, clergy, medical professionals).
It seems to me that you are the one removing the context of what he said. Please actually pay attention to what is said before you tell other people to do so.
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Permalink Reply by Professor Robert on
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@Heather, I think Sam was doing a fine job representing the context of what I said, actually.
Since I do some physics education work I do have a lot of school contacts, and served for some years on a local school board and a few state-level educational agencies and commissions and such. I can assure you that pedophilia is quite prevalent in public education settings. Sports and sports coaches in particular it seems, though teachers are also quite common.
What happens legally quite frequently is that while there is enough basis on which to force a resignation, there is often not enough to fire outright given the nature of union contracts, and typically there is insufficient evidence to prosecute. Certainly well into the 1990s school districts engaged in what was known as "passing the trash", sending problem-case teachers to other districts. Teachers also frequently moved out of state after an allegation. Eventually this was addressed through mandatory reporting laws and mandatory "professional conduct" checks and such, but those are really quite recent.
I believe one of the victims' lobby groups has data to show that on average these creeps rape 120 children before they are eventually successfully prosecuted and imprisoned. Even then, average prison terms are less than 7 years.
It is a tragedy and a travesty, but it is by no means limited to Catholic priests. These sorts of people look for any position that puts them in a position of trust with youth and parents. Priests, ministers, lay youth group leaders, coaches, teachers, band directors, camp counselors, day care workers.
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