Pope Makes Biblical Case For Addressing Climate Change: "Destruction of the planet is a sinful act"

[theHandpuppet]

77. To me, this is not a matter of picking and choosing what people wish to ignore

Last edited Sat May 24, 2014, 11:13 PM - Edit history (1)

Would anyone here be so magnanimous or forgiving had we been discussing someone who was an avowed racist? What if Francis had called Jews "intrinsically disordered"? Had stated that blacks shouldn't be allowed to adopt children and that to do so was tantamount to child abuse? Asserted that Hispanics could never become leaders in the church? Promoted a dogma that rejects the legitimacy of marriage among Native Americans, calling it an "anthropological regression"? Would these types of outrageous statements be tolerated here as long as the person delivering them called environmental destruction a sin?

This is not a matter of "agreeing or disagreeing" in measures. It's not okay to deny that all people are deserving of basic human rights as long as you believe in global climate change, for example. It's not okay to be an avowed homophobe and misogynist as long as you speak out on poverty, no more than Franklin Graham's bigotry can be excused because he's the president of Samaritan's Purse, an international relief organization. We excoriate such religious leaders here and deservedly so, yet elevate Francis to the status of a folk icon.

Perhaps some folks here are capable of a type of compartmentalization that gives Pope Francis a pass for his bigotry, but I'm not. The belief that ALL people are deserving of their basic and equal human rights is the foundation upon which all good works must be built, or the best laid plans and aspirations of the finest architects will fail. This holds true no matter what your religion or whether you ascribe to religion at all. It’s a truth that belongs to everyone, everywhere.