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Pope Francis is no saint
By Bree Bracey
It’s been said that the pope is now a global celebrity. When he recently came to America, millions of U.S. citizens saw him in person or live on television. There is a vast religious audience, in addition to increasing numbers of interested secular viewers, who are attracted to the pope’s progressive views. But how progressive are they, really? In a meeting I recently attended, discussion turned to opinions about the pope. One student said she doesn’t like how so many people think the pope is “so fantastic” when really the “progressive” things he’s said are just things good people ought to believe — like preaching about tolerance and acceptance. She also made the point that Pope Francis is probably only saying such things to keep the public happy. Another student quickly shut her down and said that, as a “queer Catholic,” these remarks meant a lot for this student’s entire community. This conversation got me thinking. I was sure that the pope was a great man. I finally reasoned that, even if he doesn’t necessarily believe the things he says but is saying them to be progressive, at the very least he is calling for the Catholic Church, and its followers to change its ideals. Though to some it may seem that Pope Francis does not mean what he’s saying, at least he’s saying it. Yesterday I read that the Vatican is stripping a priest of his duties after he openly came out as homosexual. I remembered the conversation from before and realized maybe it’s all smoke and mirrors. Maybe nothing has truly changed. The priest, Monsignor Krysztof Olaf Charamsa, made an official statement with his partner at his side, to address issues among Catholics including homophobia in the church. He told reporters, according to CNN, “the timing is not intended to pressurize anyone, but maybe a good pressure … wants to bring to the synod the response of the homosexual believers to the questioning of Pope Francis.” Maybe we should be questioning Pope Francis. I tried to reason that just because a decision emerged from the Vatican doesn’t mean the pope is necessarily responsible. According to catholicexchange.com, however, the pope has supreme authority over the church and the diocese of Rome. The pope had to have the final say in this decision. I was shocked. Monsignor Charamsa apparently was going against the Church’s known don’t-ask-don’t-tell standpoint on homosexuality, and it was believed that he had even had a partner as proof of his broken vow of celibacy. Celibacy. For some reason I seem to remember the Catholic Church having some sort of problem with priests and inappropriate behaviors, doesn’t that sound familiar? I wondered what Francis had done about this issue. A system of sexual abuse has plagued the church for a long time and it is not just a few isolated incidents. Priests are usually protected by the church, should incidents occur. And as far as I can tell, from the reading I’ve done, the pope is getting to that. Today’s priority is to fire gay priests. A “great” pope once said, “Who am I to judge?” regarding gay priests who “seek to do God’s will.” Perhaps the pope should practice what he preaches.
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