Transcript: Pope Francis’s homily at his final Mass of his historic trip to the United States

[Act_of_Reparation]

114. Whenever someone opens their mouth to criticize the Pope...

...you rush in to call them a bigot or an extremist, yammering on incessantly about all the good things he does despite his backwards attitudes. You may not directly defend his less-palatable decisions, but you overtly discredit those actively taking him to task, which is qualitatively no different.

You say the Pope should be criticized, but I sure as shit have never seen you do it. Of course, there is some question as to how you would do it, given you seem to think direct criticism is the wrong approach. Perhaps you think calling him an "inspiration" to "theists and atheists alike" will provide the necessary impetus to push him towards a more egalitarian worldview? If that's the case, why aren't you being nicer to BMUS, Skepticscott, trotsky, and Mr. Blur? Sure, you think they're bigots... but they hold some very liberal positions on poverty, climate change, and social justice. Why is it you treat them differently from the Pope? Do they not inspire you, or something?

And what about Ron Paul and the legion of nattering libertarian goons he commands? They have some very liberal positions - decriminalization of drugs, decreasing military spending, eliminating domestic surveillance - despite their penchant for racism and poor-shaming. Should we worry that criticizing Paul as the racist mental-midget he is might alienate potential allies in the anti-war movement?

It's a mystery... except it's not.