The Pope's Still Catholic

Well, the Pope's plane lifted off and I swear one of the networks followed the flight on LIVE! TV in order to document the dumping of the toilets over the Atlantic.

Okay, maybe I imagined that.

But what I didn't imagine was the fawning and excessive coverage of the guy's visit. This is one of the few instances (well, I can't think of any other, so let's say the only instance) where FOX got it right. Looking to listen for news playing in the background while cleaning or cooking, I actually had to tune to FOX News during the Pope's visit.

The guy gave three major speeches, with maybe seven to ten quotable sentences in each. The head of Russia was here this week and we didn't see as much as two minutes of his UN speech; yet these same "journalists" decided that we needed to spend entire afternoons watching an old guy in a white dress shake hands, kiss babies, and implore the sick and infirm to pray for HIM.

Wait. Really!? For HIM? He's got the top job in his profession, retirement security, 70 million people who believe he's infallible, and all the babes he wants (maybe not that), yet he's telling kids in wheelchairs that HE'S the one who needs divine intervention!? Guy needs some perspective.

The bad choice of wall to wall coverage aside, its the fawning, particularly from the liberals (sorry, progressives), that I don't get. Let's put aside, and not mention again, that this is a well educated, apparently intelligent guy who believes in an omniscient invisible man in the sky directing traffic.

Sure, the Pope made some nice points lecturing our Congress, President, and all of us, on how to behave in a civilized society which pretends to be majority christian.

But what is liberal about this guy? (Here's where FOX got it wrong, as per usu.) That he accepts climate change and environmental stewardship? The entire world accepts climate change, except for us, and environmental stewardship has been a catholic doctrine as long as I can recall (and I was raised catholic in the 50s & 60s).

Speaking of doctrine, can you, can anyone, identify ANY significant catholic doctrine this guy has changed? You cannot because he has not changed anything.

This Pope is, believe it or not, like it or not, a doctrinally conservative catholic. So, while he says and does Jesus-like things, that's only remarkable for the contrast with so many of his predecessors and his subordinates who shun Jesus-like statements of forgiveness and tolerance, and when was the last time you saw a Bishop in poverty?

But the doctrine?

This is a Pope who railed against marriage equality as “a destructive pretension against the plan of God” , a Pope who at best failed to make the same kind of public lecturing truth to power appeals when leftist clergy lives were at stake (and at worst was a collaborator), and a Pope who enthusiastically backs catholic doctrine on abortion, the insane anti-scientific life at conception claims, the opposition to ordination of women, and of course, the war on gays. Publically saying "who am I to judge" gay catholics, while sending letters opposing legislation to equalize their civil rights as the work of the devil, is what most people (outside the fawning American press and public) would call hypocritical.

This Pope is Catholic, in every sad sense of the word. I'm happy to have my news back.