I hope the new Pope surprises us

[Politicub]

That's the nicest thing I can think of saying.

As a married gay man whose community was in the previous Pope's crosshairs, forgive me for being annoyed by the outpouring of ecstasy about this man who has said some pretty awful things.

But perhaps this leopard will change his spots. Millions of Americans have changed their attitudes about gay rights, but I have little hope that the institutional homophobia of the Catholic Church will change any time soon.

I would love to have to eat my words. Truly.

There are many good Catholic DUers and dems. If change does happen, it will be incited by people like them.

[hrmjustin]

1. We can hope that he will be a breath of fresh air.

We shall see.

[Autumn]

2. I don't think it will happen in our life time. But I have met a couple

of wonderful young priests, someday they may be Cardinals and then there may be change.

[rurallib]

3. I second your hopes

Seems the last time the church took s chance on an 'unknown' quantity was John XXIII. Don't think they will make that mistake again soon.

[HuckleB]

5. He finished second in voting in 2005.

He's a well-known entity.

[HuckleB]

4. Alas, the reason his name was familiar to me...

... was from his bizarre attacks against gay marriage in Argentina a couple years ago. Not only that, he actually argued against adoption of children by gay parents, because he thinks it's discriminatory against children.



More at the saved wiki site (apparently all controversial information was quickly cut earlier today).
http://web.archive.org/web/20120212075714/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Bergoglio

[gateley]

6. He seems like a good man, and definitely walks the talk about humility, but

I fear he's another John Paul/Benedict when it comes to gay/women's rights and other issues that are important to us. (Makes sense, I guess, since they probably choose Cardinals who share the same beliefs.)

You're right about the people who have changed their minds (I bet twenty years ago Joe Biden would have been against gay marriage, too, but he's the one who got the ball rolling for this administration.) So I guess there's hope.

If not, just know that the majority of people are on your/our side, and will follow their hearts regardless of the official stance.

[Politicub]

7. Thank you for your post

[Humanist_Activist]

9. Anyone who fights against marriage equality is by definition NOT a good person. n/t

[gateley]

11. He's good in so many ways, where others are not, but woefully wrong when

it comes to marriage equality. He doesn't even believe in marriage equality for priests!

I'm hoping he will evolve, like the rest of the world is. Again, I think he's a good man, so maybe his goodness will overcome his ingrained beliefs. It could happen!

[Humanist_Activist]

12. I see no evidence that he is anything other than a homophobic bigot.

Until he demonstrates otherwise, he's a bad guy with "pet the dog" moments when it comes to caring for the poor. Big fucking deal.

[gateley]

14. We'll see. I believe in the

goodness of most people. His pet the dog moments are pretty amazing and I think speak to who he is. He's just been brainwashed like so many others of his age and religion.

I hope he does change his mind, but it will be incremental if he does, I fear.

[Humanist_Activist]

16. I strongly doubt he will change his mind, indeed, he said those who advocate marriage equality...

are doing the work of Satan. Not a moderate, nor open minded by any stretch of the imagination.

[gateley]

18. Yeah, I strongly doubt it, too -- but he shows so much compassion and understanding

in other areas. That's what makes me hope that deep down he knows this isn't right.

I never follow a Pope's dictates anyway -- and I think that can be said for a lot of people. There will always be haters and bigots and homophobes, it would just be nice if an institution like the Church came out in support of ALL peoples' rights.

Other organized religions are coming around, this may just be a tougher nut to crack. WILL be a tougher nut to crack.

I'm not a fan of any organized religion, but figure if it helps someone get a long a little easier, what's the harm. But too many place the emphasis on what is WRONG with the person. Sad, sad, sad.

[LuvNewcastle]

8. The Papacy is no different today than it was when

John Paul and Benedict held the office. That's about the nicest thing I can say. It's not the end of the world, but things aren't any better either. People who like the Catholic Church as it is can celebrate a continuation of the status quo. For the rest of us, we have the same problems we had before.

[Warpy]

10. Well he's a Jesuit

which means he's not a hidebound conservative like the last few. Jesuits are the rabble rousers of that organization (yeah, I know, hard to tell) and he's likely to shake them up here and there.

He will be a lot noisier when it comes to the rights of the world's poor.

He'll likely be just as bad as the rest of them concerning women and gays/lesbians.

[Politicub]

13. I'm learning about Jesuits, Assisis and Xaviers because of all this

I just hope Francis isn't a jerk.

[gateley]

15. He has so much compassion for the poor and his washing the feet of AIDS patients

in a hospice makes me shake my head and catch my breath in awe. I can't understand how someone so compassionate stops short. I read that he's adamant about respecting gays, but couldn't he just move a little bit further and give them (you) the total respect and equality that's deserved?

[Incitatus]

17. Maybe

For the church to survive it will have to evolve and change positions like society has. All I see is another robe wearing hypocrite that tells others how to live. Of course, I have been called a cynic by many