JCC Pope watch MMXIII (MMXXV Edition)

Back to actual Pope/Chruch news, the head of the infamous Vatican Bank, Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, stepped down and has been arrested by Italian police

 

That aside, anyone named Nunzio has to be cool. The name itself sounds like a Batman arch villain. It's matched only for awesomeness by Enzo, which just rolls off the tongue, making your teeth feel like they're in a Ferrari's gearbox as it shifts down from third to second in preparation for flooring the pedal.

 

does this have anything to do with bennie (and the jets) stepping down?

 

What is the relationship of this move to the Pope's campaign? Were they getting out in front of the arrest, or did this come about as a result of serious Vatican cooperation?

Likewise, what is the status of Bergoglio's attempt to shut down the gay lobby? Are we to expect a defrocking (or multiple) soon?

 

Not completely sure. As far as I understand it, Scarano was forced to resign as part of the Pope's attempt to clean up the bank, afterwards he was arrested by Italian police. Not sure if there's a direct connection between the two events -- there's certainly a factual connection of some sort, but I mean in terms of the the arrest being a direct result of the Pope's forcing him out.

 

A purge of gay people is a great way to not look like an evil dictator.

 

It's nothing against them, but they absolutely don't deserve any place within the organization's hierarchy. They can have no credibility if they simultaneously argue that homosexual intercourse is an abomination and that the unreformed people who still participate in it are moral exemplars and senior organizational leaders. It's like having PETA host steak dinners.

 

Maybe they shouldn't argue that homosexuality is an abomination?

 

I hope there wasn't a Corleone involved......

 

"Maybe homosexuality shouldn't BE an abomination, brah."

 

The Pope is cleaning up corruption one corrupt Vatican member at a time. It's kinda like how in Superman IV, Superman vows to rid of all nukes minus the terrible special effects.

 

The pope can then launch all the corrupt clergy into the sun. But then when OZK steals a piece of his hair and throws it into the sun, Pope Benedict returns.

 

I'm not sure about the Catholic policy/doctrinal process, but there may not be a way to do this. The closest analogue to religious organizations in secular life should be issue organizations. Disconnected from that, it simply becomes a powerful, pervasive organization that exists to perpetuate its own existence, realizing the worst charges from both modern and reformation era critics.

 

Pope Francis reaches out to gays

“If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” Francis asked, as he returned from the first overseas trip since being elected Pope in March.

Very good!

He said there should be no discrimination against gays, but also reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s universal catechism, which says that while homosexual orientation is not sinful, homosexual acts are.

Oh wait.

Interesting article too.

 

Already responded in the other thread.

This has been the position of the Catholic church for a while. (In fact, the Mormon church has recently taken this view too)

 

That's always been the position of the Church.

 

I think the message here is ultimately "Be nice to each other". Which I do agree with.


And the cynical part of me wants to tack on "Because gay Catholics who feel welcome at church are more likely to drop money into the plate. More money means more bling."

No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!

 

So do I. There are people who think that Love thy nieghbour means love thy nieghbour, but only if thy nieghbour is white, straight and Christian. The Pope's comments that he feels that he doesn't have the right to judge gay people and that he doesn't have a problem with gay priests explicitly states that this stance is wrong and fundamentally unchristian. Good for him for saying that.

 

Pope Francis went quite a bit further in a new interview: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/19/pope-francis-gay_n_3954776.html

 

Further than what? The wishy-washy **** that the media nonsensically interprets as a substantive departure from his last two predecessors? Again, this is the guy who tried to interfere in the progression of gay rights in Argentina, and he wasn't the tender age of 36 at the time.

 

But it's stunning, Guy! It's the top story on Morning Joe (MSNBC) today... when the Pope speaks, he demands attention!


Sent from my iPhone 5... take that, Wocky!

 

While obviously I disagree with the characterization of "wishy-washy ****", I totally agree that the media is trying to create news out of nothing. He has a consistent history of supporting the Church's teaching on moral issues, even though he may wish to focus on different moral issues in his Pontificate than Pope Benedict did or many Catholics focus upon now.

 

At this point, though, I can't really fault the media. Yes, his actual positions have not changed. But the pattern here is pretty clear. He tends to give exactly the same group of conservative positions on coincidentally "hot button" social issues increasingly harsh tongue lashings, then contrast this with his own position. I don't think this can be characterized as trying to bring a new focus to his own tenure. He's on a deliberate public relation campaign that depends on implying much more than he actually thinks (let alone will do). It's not the fault of news outlets for reporting it out.

In any case, though, I don't even see how his current position is rational. If he really thinks rules about contraception and the like are "small-minded" why doesn't he initiate a push to remove them? He is, after all, the Pope. It makes little sense to simultaneously assert that certain positions are irrational and damaging and also say that they shouldn't be changed. Go one way or another with this.

 

As an "emotionally stunted fundie", as EBB put it, I share a lot of your sentiment. However, I feel obligated to give Papa Francesco the benefit of the doubt, admittedly for personal reasons, and not necessarily from viewing the situation strictly rationally.

On the topic of kicking the can down the road, here is a great article from the Onion.


I used my phone. Beware.pf.typos.