Pope Francis says lots of awesome things in new interview

[hey_kayla_jay]

Six months into his papacy, Pope Francis sent shock waves through the Roman Catholic church on Thursday with the publication of his remarks that the church had grown “obsessed” with abortion, gay marriage and contraception, and that he had chosen not to talk about those issues despite recriminations from critics.

His surprising comments came in a

Comments

[lied_ohne_worte]

The pope’s interview did not change church doctrine or policies

And that, I think, is the part people should remember, as it's unlikely that things on the ground will change just because this pope seems nicer than the last, as long as he doesn't change anything else.

[scolaro]

I'm kind of hoping (against all odds) that this is just the first step. That he will follow through and change some of the doctrines and policies now.

[lied_ohne_worte]

I doubt that very much - they would lose large sections of the conservative members and probably also priests and bishops. While Catholics in countries like Germany and I think the US too are very liberal and tend not to care much about many of the rules (you can bet the German ones are using contraception and having pre-marital sex), there are other regions where things look very different.

To be cynical... any changes would have to move so slowly that he wouldn't live long enough to see them through. Almost all current cardinals have been appointed by the last two Popes, and John Paul, regardless of the fact that this community seems to have decided he was a kind old grandfather, was just as conservative as Benedict. So the Cardinals can just elect another Conservative the next time if they want to stop changes. The church as an organisation, if you look at the power structures on the top, is quite self-maintaining.

[scolaro]

Yeah, that's what I meant when I said "against all odds". You're likely right and nothing will change the monster that is the catholic church. Even if Francis tried it, they probably have ways to get rid of him quickly.

But...leave me a little bit of hope in this new unexpected superhero, would you? ...*sniff*

;)

[lied_ohne_worte]

Aww, sorry - I do understand that people want to be hopeful. I'm just in a cynical mood right now. ;-)

[scolaro]

Heh. I think I know why. *is following news around the Bundestagswahl as well*

[lied_ohne_worte]

Oh dear, yes. Just came back from choir rehearsal, and our director proposed we could save ourselves all the silly theatre and posturing every four years and appoint Merkel for life and her children (which of course is a bit of a problem) afterward, so things would just trudge on as they are. Quite a few people were in for the idea, too.

[scolaro]

HAH! Because both monarchy and dictatorship worked out so well in the past...

I just got off of skyping for 4.5 hours with a German friend who lives in England, and we both got so depressed when talking about the options there are.

On the one hand you want to vote for a party that has *your* priorities straight and may be able to change things, on the other, if this party won't make it to begin with, you don't want to "give away" your vote, but instead choose another one that leans in the same general direction...and both parties have their pros and cons to begin with.

Bah, I hate voting "strategically", so I'll probably stick with "Die Piraten" in the end. But it's so disappointing that there doesn't seem to be a left to speak of nowadays...