Religion
In reply to the discussion: Dear Pope, Atheists Don't Need Redemption [View all]BlueStreak
(8,377 posts)I believe both are fundamentally decent people. And both find themselves "in charge of" bureaucracies full of evil, loathsome people who have interests fundamentally opposed to the stated missions of said bureaucracies.
The advantage Pops Francis has is that he can carry on pushing the rest of his life if he wants to. And the Pope actually does have some real power over his bureaucracy (unlike the President).
As an atheist, I was not offended by his statement. I think it was his way of trying to say (basically), "We are on this planet together. Let's help each other. There is no need to be enemies." And if that was his meaning, I believe he is right.
I hate what has become of the Catholic Church -- and I'm sure quite a few of the parishioners do as well. And I admire many of the things the Catholic Church has tried to do in the past. There is no point in arguing about the hereafter. And where there are opportunities for us to work together for social justice and advancement of the least among us, we should be allies.
In recent years, the only thing good about the Catholic Church was the nuns, IMHO. Now it it the Nuns and the Pope. I hope together they can clean up some of their mess.