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cleanhippie

(19,705 posts)
Sun Jan 18, 2015, 10:41 AM Jan 2015

Pope Francis’ new clothes: Why his progressive image is white smoke and mirrors

Don't buy his populist rhetoric. The new pope is every bit the sexist homophobe as his predecessors


THE IMAGE OF Pope Francis is that he is a breath of fresh air, more progressive on social issues than his predecessor and a kinder, gentler pope. But when the facts are examined, you see that he is none of these things. There is an enormous disconnect between who the pope really is in terms of his policies and his public relations image, as crafted by the Vatican’s PR man, previously with Fox News. The current PR mission is all about reversing the incredible decline in fundraising under the last pope from the U.S. Catholic Church in particular. Pope Francis has made any number of statements that seem to indicate change and progress that are not reflected in policy. In fact, in the wake of such comments from Pope Francis, the Vatican often makes a point to explicitly state that no church policy has changed.

While the pope transmits a populist vibe—particularly about the economy— he is an old-school conservative who, despite his great PR, maintains nearly all of the socialpolicies of his predecessors and keeps up a hardline Vatican “cabinet.” He has done virtually nothing to change the policies of the church to match his more compassionate rhetoric. People excuse the pope, claiming that he doesn’t have much power to make changes, but this simply isn’t true. Further, it is ludicrous to suggest that a man who denies comprehensive reproductive health care (including all forms of birth control including condoms and abortion) and comprehensive family planning is a man who cares about the poor of this world. The bigotry of homophobia and sexism cloaked in religion are still bigotry and sexism. By giving to the church, American Catholics aren’t supporting “progress,” they are supporting oppression and in this way are complicit in the bigotry, sexism, and oppression of the church.

http://www.salon.com/2014/06/22/pope_franciss_liberal_reformer_image_is_all_smoke_and_mirrors_partner/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow




Glad to see that more and more are seeing the reality of who this man is and what his church actually stands for.

And Catholics wonder why attendance is down and churches are closing?
25 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Pope Francis’ new clothes: Why his progressive image is white smoke and mirrors (Original Post) cleanhippie Jan 2015 OP
they cant do both? belzabubba333 Jan 2015 #1
What? cleanhippie Jan 2015 #5
You already knew what the church stood for I'm sure. upaloopa Jan 2015 #2
I don't understand your point. cleanhippie Jan 2015 #3
I don't understand the outrage of someone who knows what the church stands for when the leader of upaloopa Jan 2015 #9
I don't understand the outrage of someone who doesn't undertand the outrage of someone cleanhippie Jan 2015 #24
I thought it stood for 'turn the other cheeck' Jesus stuff, but apparently it stands for 'punch thy Bluenorthwest Jan 2015 #6
It's not 'smoke and mirrors' so much as intentional mendacity on the part of his staff, the media Bluenorthwest Jan 2015 #4
Apparently there is some disagreement on that point. ucrdem Jan 2015 #7
Just goes to show the rank hypocrisy. cleanhippie Jan 2015 #8
And how good his ex-FOX News pr consultant is at doing his job. beam me up scottie Jan 2015 #19
There were a lot of people unhappy with that choice. PeaceNikki Jan 2015 #11
Five Reasons Why The Advocate Is Dangerously Wrong To Name Pope Francis Person Of The Year beam me up scottie Jan 2015 #20
Pope Francis preaches hate from the pulpit Major Nikon Jan 2015 #12
He has pissed off conservatives FLPanhandle Jan 2015 #10
I'd say the same of Obama. hunter Jan 2015 #13
Criticizing a bigoted catholic leader is not the same thing as bashing catholics. beam me up scottie Jan 2015 #15
Hello!!! Good to see you here. I'm not asking for any apology. hunter Jan 2015 #21
Hi yourself! beam me up scottie Jan 2015 #22
Here are some of the things his cheerleaders don't want you to see: beam me up scottie Jan 2015 #14
DU rec... SidDithers Jan 2015 #16
It is not true that he "maintains a hardline cabinet." He has made substantial changes pnwmom Jan 2015 #17
The Catholic Church is growing at a rate of 12% year. Drahthaardogs Jan 2015 #18
This message was self-deleted by its author 1000words Jan 2015 #23
+1 cleanhippie Jan 2015 #25

upaloopa

(11,417 posts)
2. You already knew what the church stood for I'm sure.
Sun Jan 18, 2015, 11:01 AM
Jan 2015

This Pope isn't going to be please everyone and we all know that.

upaloopa

(11,417 posts)
9. I don't understand the outrage of someone who knows what the church stands for when the leader of
Mon Jan 19, 2015, 09:05 PM
Jan 2015

that church stands for the same thing.

cleanhippie

(19,705 posts)
24. I don't understand the outrage of someone who doesn't undertand the outrage of someone
Tue Jan 20, 2015, 11:32 AM
Jan 2015

who isn't outraged.

 

Bluenorthwest

(45,319 posts)
6. I thought it stood for 'turn the other cheeck' Jesus stuff, but apparently it stands for 'punch thy
Sun Jan 18, 2015, 12:01 PM
Jan 2015

neighbor' Francis style retaliation. It's a bit confusing, because what Frank teaches is the opposite of what Jesus taught.

 

Bluenorthwest

(45,319 posts)
4. It's not 'smoke and mirrors' so much as intentional mendacity on the part of his staff, the media
Sun Jan 18, 2015, 11:05 AM
Jan 2015

and his needful believers. He delivered a diatribe of hate against equality in Manila, DUers are busily shouting their love for the man who adds 'disfiguring God' to his list of accusations against gay people, whom he already calls disordered, demonically influenced and unworthy of equality.

The 'who am I to judge' quote was pulled from an ugly attack on the 'gay lobby' which Francis said 'is very bad' and any lack of judgement was reserved for celibates with no sexual or emotional relationships, it never meant 'don't judge gay couples' but many people aggressively claimed that it did. They lied, that's all it is, they lied. About important things, to people they see as inferior to themselves.

beam me up scottie

(57,349 posts)
19. And how good his ex-FOX News pr consultant is at doing his job.
Mon Jan 19, 2015, 10:54 PM
Jan 2015

If he can convince even one lgbt person that his homophobic boss is their friend he's earned every penny.

beam me up scottie

(57,349 posts)
20. Five Reasons Why The Advocate Is Dangerously Wrong To Name Pope Francis Person Of The Year
Mon Jan 19, 2015, 11:01 PM
Jan 2015
Five Reasons Why The Advocate Is Dangerously Wrong To Name Pope Francis Person Of The Year
The Advocate has named Pope Francis its Person of the Year. Apparently, there was such a shortage of actual LGBT newsmakers this year that the magazine had to turn to the heterosexual community to find someone to honor.

And what did the pope do to merit this honor? He made a couple of comments.

When Time magazine named the pope its Person of the Year, it spent a lot of time talking about the potential for change that Francis represents. Most notable among those were his “Who am I to judge?” comment about gay people. There were also his remarks about the Church ratcheting back its obsession on gay issues.These are the slender reeds upon which The Advocate hangs its honors. The magazine obviously knew it was being deliberately controversial. What it didn’t realize was that it was also celebrating homophobia at slightly reduced levels. Here are five reasons why The Advocate was dangerously wrong to pick the Pope as its Person of the Year.

1. He hasn’t actually done anything. This is the hardest fact to ignore. The pope’s words were lovely and welcome, but even Time acknowledged that the change was in tone, not policy. For institutional homophobia, the Vatican is hard to beat. Until Francis takes steps to eliminate homophobia and not just tone it down, he doesn’t deserve to be an LGBT icon.

2. We don’t know the limits of his rhetoric. Francis has only been in office since the spring. He hasn’t faced a situation when his live-and-let-live rhetoric gets tested. Without a doubt, there will be limits to his rhetoric. At some point, he’s going to draw the line. Given current Church policy, we are guaranteed to be on the wrong side of it.

3. It cheapens the community’s most important legal advance to date. On one side, you have the pope saying kind things. On the other, you have a vast phalanx of lesbians and gays, symbolized by Edie Windsor, who have fought a lifetime to have their relationships validated by the government. Isn’t it ironic that The Advocate choose to honor the man who presides over an institution that will refuses to recognize the importance of our relationships instead of the people who won this battle for us?

4. It confusions omission with action. “True to his word, Pope Francis hasn’t used his biggest moments in the world spotlight to condemn LGBT people, as Benedict had done,” the magazine notes. Really? Passing up the opportunity to verbally bash the community is an almost subterranean bar to clear. If we’re going to start handing out medals on that basis, almost anyone would qualify. Even Republicans.

5. It gives the pope a free pass for future actions. By setting its sights so low, The Advocate has given the journalism equivalent of plenary indulgences to the pope — free passes for future sins. If the pope signs onto campaigns against marriage equality or appoints a notorious homophobe as cardinal, well, he can’t be all bad because he still was honored by The Advocate.

http://www.queerty.com/five-reasons-why-the-advocate-is-dangerously-wrong-to-name-pope-francis-man-of-the-year-20131219



Keep trotting out that cover like it proves he's not an enemy to lgbt people and those of us who support their fight for human rights.

Whose side are you on?



Major Nikon

(36,814 posts)
12. Pope Francis preaches hate from the pulpit
Mon Jan 19, 2015, 09:15 PM
Jan 2015

Yet we have people cheerleading him pointing out to us that the level of hate he preaches is not as bad as his predecessors, so this must be a great thing. It's like a Catholic bake sale advertising shit sandwiches with 25% less shit. Who buys this crap?

hunter

(38,264 posts)
13. I'd say the same of Obama.
Mon Jan 19, 2015, 09:21 PM
Jan 2015

Myself, I'm too far left and far too radical in my politics to be President or Pope.

Bashing Catholics or any other peaceful religion is just the same old shit.

More is accomplished by being inclusive.

I find it remarkable that these posts are coming out on this MLK holiday. Martin Luther King Jr. was a man motivated by his religious belief that we are all brothers and sisters.

beam me up scottie

(57,349 posts)
15. Criticizing a bigoted catholic leader is not the same thing as bashing catholics.
Mon Jan 19, 2015, 10:21 PM
Jan 2015

The pope's continued opposition to human rights for lgbt people pisses some of us off.

Not apologizing.

hunter

(38,264 posts)
21. Hello!!! Good to see you here. I'm not asking for any apology.
Mon Jan 19, 2015, 11:12 PM
Jan 2015

You may or may not remember I have crazy family, married lesbians, raising their kids Catholic.

Yes. Entirely

I'm pissed off and angry too, mostly because of my own experiences within the Catholic/Orthodox universe.

My first "real girlfriend" left some bad scars on me; a David Lynch version of My Big Fat Greek Wedding where I never make it to the wedding and the bride runs off with her girlfriend.

After the worst of my injuries had healed, physical and mental, I met my wife and we had an ordinary Catholic wedding. My beloved grandfather did not attend because I was marrying in his words, "a Mexican girl," which white Californians weren't supposed to do in his time, but he got over that.

Nevertheless, the whole lot of us are heretics and subversives, which is mostly how the Europeans of our family ended up in the Americas.

If I have any life strategy, it's to work with whatever tools I've got and to run away from the deadliest sorts of trouble.

beam me up scottie

(57,349 posts)
22. Hi yourself!
Mon Jan 19, 2015, 11:37 PM
Jan 2015

I remember your posts about your family and your personal journey on DU2. You're one of the good guys, hunter.



beam me up scottie

(57,349 posts)
14. Here are some of the things his cheerleaders don't want you to see:
Mon Jan 19, 2015, 09:53 PM
Jan 2015
Pope Francis on gay rights: His 5 worst quotes

The new pontiff is being hailed as a fresh choice, but there's nothing new about his opposition to gay rights


Pope Francis has been praised for his humility (he picks up his own luggage!), his acceptance of other faiths (he won’t insult the Prophet Mohammed in public addresses!) and his “precedent shattering” name choice (more humility!).

But the pontiff who is being hailed as a “new direction” for the Catholic Church is the same-old brand of theological conservative who opposes the ordination of women, abortion and the fundamental rights of gays and lesbians.

In fact, then-Cardinal Jose Bergoglio was a major force against the 2010 move to legalize same-sex marriage in his native Argentina. Though he ultimately failed, Bergoglio used the full weight of the church to crush the measure.

Here, a collection of his very worst quotes on the issue.

1. A Senate vote on gay marriage is a destructive pretension against the plan of God

From a letter to the Carmelite Sisters of Buenos Aires on the perils of marriage equality:

“Let’s not be naïve, 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.”

2. Gay marriage will destroy the family

More from the same letter to the four monasteries of Argentina:

“The Argentine people will face a situation whose outcome can seriously harm the family… At stake is the identity and survival of the family: father, mother and children.

3. Gay parenting is a rejection of God’s law engraved in our hearts

Again:

“At stake are the lives of many children who will be discriminated against in advance, and deprived of their human development given by a father and a mother and willed by God. At stake is the total rejection of God’s law engraved in our hearts.”

4. The political struggle against marriage equality is war

And finally:

“The bill will be discussed in the Senate after July 13. Look at San Jose, Maria, Child and ask them [to] fervently defend Argentina’s family at this time. [Be reminded] what God told his people in a time of great anguish: ‘This war is not yours but God’s.’ May they succor, defend and join God in this war.”

5. Gay adoption is discrimination against children

According to the National Catholic Reporter, Francis called gay adoption a form of “discrimination against children.” A comment that resulted in a public rebuke from Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who said that Francis’ remarks suggested “medieval times and the Inquisition.”

http://www.salon.com/2013/03/14/pope_francis_on_gay_rights_his_5_worst_quotes/



Cardinal Bergoglio Hits Out at Same-Sex Marriage

A Jesuit cardinal has become the latest Church leader to speak out forcefully against a government’s push towards same-sex marriage, and has called on his nation’s contemplatives to pray fervently to prevent such laws.

According to an article in tomorrow’s L’Osservatore Romano, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires and Primate of Argentina, has said that if a proposed bill giving same-sex couples the opportunity to marry and adopt children should be approved, it will “seriously damage the family.”

He made the statement in a letter addressed to each of the four monasteries in Argentina, asking the contemplatives to pray “fervently” that legislators be strengthened to do the right thing.

He wrote: “In the coming weeks, the Argentine people will face a situation whose outcome can seriously harm the family…At stake is the identity and survival of the family: father, mother and children. At stake are the lives of many children who will be discriminated against in advance, and deprived of their human development given by a father and a mother and willed by God. At stake is the total rejection of God’s law engraved in our hearts.”

Cardinal Bergoglio continued: “Let us not be naive: this is not simply a political struggle, but it is an attempt to destroy God’s plan. It is not just a bill (a mere instrument) but a ‘move’ of the father of lies who seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.”

The cardinal also noted that “today the country, in this particular situation, needs the special assistance of the Holy Spirit to bring the light of truth on to the darkness of error, it need this advocate to defend us from being enchanted by many fallacies that are tried at all costs to justify this bill and to confuse and deceive the people of good will.”

...

Cardinal Bergoglio said the bill will be discussed in the Senate after July 13. “We look to Saint Joseph, Mary and the Child Jesus and ask that they fervently defend the family in Argentina at this particular time,” he said. “We remember what God said to his people in a moment of great anguish: ‘This war is not yours, but God’s’: defend us, then, in this war of God.”

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/cardinal_bergoglio_hits_out_at_same-sex_marriage



rec'd for helping to expose right wing religious bigots.


pnwmom

(108,925 posts)
17. It is not true that he "maintains a hardline cabinet." He has made substantial changes
Mon Jan 19, 2015, 10:26 PM
Jan 2015

in the Vatican hierarchy, including putting the American Cardinal Burke out to pasture.

For example:

http://www.businessinsider.com/pope-francis-is-rattling-the-vatican-bureaucracy-by-ousting-italians-2014-3

Putting himself on what one commentator dubbed a "collision course with the Curia", the Argentine has set up several international committees. The latest, created to root out pedophilia in the Catholic Church, includes only one Italian out of eight.

The same is true of a body that he set up in April last year, just one month into his papacy, to advise him on reforming the Curia -- his council of cardinals, nicknamed the G8.

Foreign cardinals have been awarded prestigious posts, from the Australian George Pell -- head of the new economy ministry -- to Germany's Reinhard Marx, who leads up a council tasked with overseeing the Vatican's economic management.

Marx is assisted by Britain's Brian Ferme and Alfred Xuereb of Malta -- who doubles as the pope's very influential private secretary.

"By entrusting delicate government tasks to hierarchies that are made up mainly of non-Italians who are not resident in Rome, the pope is putting himself on a collision course with the Curia's traditional power," editorialist Ernesto Galli Della Loggia wrote in Italy's leading daily Corriere della Sera.


SNIP

Drahthaardogs

(6,843 posts)
18. The Catholic Church is growing at a rate of 12% year.
Mon Jan 19, 2015, 10:33 PM
Jan 2015

Mostly in Africa these days, but still, the meme that the Church is shrinking is false.

Response to cleanhippie (Original post)

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