If only he wouldn't advertise not using contraception. AIDS is a massive issue in Africa where they are being told not to use protection to prevent it.
But it's very nice to see him at least attempting to reform the church in some ways.
He's already stated that in certain circumstances and situations birth control is reasonable, which is WAY more progressive than anything that has been suggested before. He even encouraged the use of birth control during the Zika outbreak that caused an astronomical increase in microcephaly a few years back
The issue isn't birth control; it's the catholic church's views on the use of condoms. The Church has a history of opposing the use of condoms. That history has not yet been overturned and Pope Francis. Further, I remember that the majority position is that any chemical or physical precautions taken during sex to be an abomination. All the Pope has to do is say "Yea, you should wear condoms to prevent the transfer of AIDs" and I would be happier.
The Church is indeed more progressive, but they simply aren't progressive enough. Thousands of people are dying and thousands more are being sentenced to death when all it would take is a single word from the Pope to solve this.
Revolution is chaos. It almost always means change- but some change is bad and some is good- and which is which can be a matter of perspective. When in a position of power there is a balance. “To help someone tomorrow you must be in business tomorrow.” What that means is that power comes from vassals, those who give you authority. It’s an illusion, save for where force is used, but ultimately if one doesn’t break- force can only go so far before one is ruler of the graveyard. So, the pope has tremendous power like many, but to make radical changes quickly can lose you power and lead to revolution. You get schisms (how many times have the Catholic and Christians among other splintered off over disagreement?) which then lessens your power to make change. In fact, if things go particularly badly you don’t even end up in change of a remaining faction. You may be deposed even. This tends to lead the next person in power to more traditional conservatism to avoid the same fate. In other words
By the standards of the church this pope has already made many unpopular and progressive rulings. He may not yet have made the church “perfect” in progressive acceptance, but generally speaking radical social change almost always involves violence or death. To truly change the way people think as opposed to simply using some force or coercion which once removed has them behaving as they naturally tend to, one must make gradual and incremental change at a pace that allows people to come to accept it, even if that takes generations. The alternatives are almost always to try and end blood and suffering with a campaign of blood and suffering, being deposed, or causing schism. The first one is self defeating and the last two don’t actually accomplish anything unless you’re lucky enough to become a martyr in which case it could STILL take generations for your martyrdom to inspire change and we are back at square one. People want everything g solved now- but minds are harder to change.
I think it's a great thing to point out. As far as the paedophilia, they kicked a priest out of the church because of what he has done to children (the man is standing trial for his crimes). It's not much but it means that he can't hide behind the church nor are they helping him in anyway. It's a step, a small one but it is definitely a step. I, for one, am eagerly for many more steps to come.
A single human life is large enough to be good in some aspects and bad in others. All positions of power are positions of compromise- a seemingly lesser “bad” traded for a “greater good” here and there, weighing what is “right” against what is prudent to maintain power or order, or to make and keep allies and options in the future. This pope is not perfect, but he is doing good in many places and ways. As individuals we weigh the good and the bad against each other- but it’s also important to remember that organizations and their problems tend to exist before new leaders ever took the reigns and aren’t so simply brought with nor stopped by the new leadership. We look at figure heads as ultimately responsible, but no leader of a large organization can be involved everywhere at once. They rely on others who rely on others and so on.
I’m pretty sure there aren’t any credible rape allegations about the current pope, and he certainly can’t retroactively un rape past victims. Of all his super friend powers that is not one I know of. Now- the pope doesn’t personally appoint every priest. You may even be shocked blackdragon to know he hasn’t even met every catholic priest, and doubtful he knows all their names. Popes have very little involvement at that level- much like a company chair of the board. They couldn’t really do their executive duties if they followed around every employee and made sure they were staying clean. They rely on others. Considering no other government in the world (Vatican is a government...) has been able to stamp out rape or corruption- it’s not really fair to hold that against the pope anymore than we can blame trump or Obama for all rape in America. The fact bad things happen doesn’t cancel good things. There’s no score card where 1 donation to charity means you can punch someone, or one...
... murder means a person didn’t cure cancer. In the real world things exist as wholes made of many parts. Some are invariably bad and some good. So if we have no evidence the pope has committed, participated, condoned, or covered up rape- and we have evidence that he has taken steps against rape, we may be specific in ways he could better stop rape in the church or expose it, but not grounds to judge his entire tenure as pope and all his life deeds off of rapes committed by other people. If your brother commits murder are you just as guilty as he is of the crime? Who should know your brother and watch him better than you? If you help him or cover it up you are guilty of something- but first I need to have some proof you were involved don’t I?
But it's very nice to see him at least attempting to reform the church in some ways.
The Church is indeed more progressive, but they simply aren't progressive enough. Thousands of people are dying and thousands more are being sentenced to death when all it would take is a single word from the Pope to solve this.