The Pope is shaking things up again.

[Aroura33]

http://http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/05/21320327-pope-francis-latest-surprise-a-survey-on-the-modern-family?lite

[frosty]

The reformist pope is simply there because the Church realized it is in deep shit with everyone, including even devout Catholics. People are fed up of thousands of years of meddling and having their lives controlled by men that make empty claims of having approval from god but their main activity is molesting and embezzling money.

Pope Francis is a modern, tolerant, positive face for the church to regain it's momentum and re-attract followers. Everything about this guy shows that he purposely makes statements of tolerance just so he can bring people back into the fold. People should be cautious though. While this guy is nice window dressing for the Catholic Church, while he puts on a smile and makes nice speeches the Church is still molesting and embezzling money.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

Or perhaps he actually drinks the heavenly koolaid and actually gives a shit what happens to humanity..
Of a lifetime of my departed grandmother and mother who by the way to the priest to get the hell out her house the church remained a static, repressive monster might or might not be any different, but it is unprecidented that the church asks anyone's opinion.

[aitm]

Religion has a healthy history of watering down its "whiskey" to attract more followers.

[_Xenu_]

Francis could be what the Catholic Church needs, a modernizer with a sincere interest in the plight of the disadvantaged. If the Catholic Church would quit focusing on divisive social issues like abortion and gay marriage, it could actually be a force for good in the world. They have the resources to feed the hungry and help the desperate, and I think Francis is going to push the Church in that direction. I really hope his papacy lasts a long time.

[Solitary]

Solitary

[billhilly]

Religion has a healthy history of watering down its "whiskey" to attract more followers.

Them's some shitty followers then,  Everybody knows it's blasphemy to water down whiskey.

[Hydra009]

The document sent to every nation's conference of bishops notes that the ancient church and its members are grappling with "concerns which were unheard of until a few years ago."
Same-sex unions, mixed marriages, single-parent families and surrogate mothers are all mentioned in the prelude to a list of questions that get into the nitty-gritty of 21st century life:

That "a few years ago" might need some qualifying.  Cause most of that stuff has been going on for quite a while now.

But other than that, encouraging news.  A pope who cares what the rank and file think - now there's a novel idea!  Whether or not this information is actually put to use is another story.  Even with a reasonably level-headed guy at the helm, it's hard to steer a ship that has already run aground and never exactly had a crew willing to change course in the first place.

[The Skeletal Atheist]

Smile and put out all the polls you want. I won't be impressed until one is able to get a same sex marriage inside a Catholic church with the blessing of the church. This pope has done some more for poverty than other popes, but when it comes to other social issues it is just pretty words that put horrible church practices in a warm and fuzzy coating.

I think one prime example of this is when he talked about homosexuals in the preisthood...that whole "who am I to judge" shit. A lot of other gays on my facebook were just ready to fellate this guy over it like it was such a revolutionary statement, but they never realized that his words were crafted so they never disagreed with church doctrine. of course a preist can be gay, but only because the sexuality of a preist is not suppose to matter - they are expected to be celibate.

Basically this whole smiles campaign is just that - smiles and nothing more. Still no condoms in Africa, no hope for raped children, and no approval of loving same sex couples.

[Jason78]

Or perhaps he actually drinks the heavenly koolaid and actually gives a shit what happens to humanity..

[SGOS]

The Pope is an interesting figure, but I don't take him seriously.  From recent retractions of the Pope's comments, I get the impression that Popes might be operated by strings from behind a curtain.  When things go well, they simply move their mouths as expected, but if they get too frisky and venture out on their own, some puppeteer has to give a hard yank on the string.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

Ehh..we'll see. I'm skeptically hopeful about this guy. At least he's not as creepy as RatZinger.. :-k

[frosty]

The Skeletal Atheist seems to get my point. Yeah, quite a few people here seem to believe the image the pope has put out there. Fine, that's their business. But this world in almost all aspects is run like a business and the Catholic Church with all it's money is no exception. If people disagree with me that they are struggling to regain control after losing relevancy in modern times, then suit yourself.

[Solitary]

Should a religion that is suppose to be about spiritual things and morality be in a material business to make money? Isn't that just a we bit hypocritical?  The new Pope is like a wolf in sheep's clothing, better yet a puppet shill for the Holy See to make the Church richer by getting more converts, or those to come back to the flock with superstitious nonsense and subterfuge.  :P    Solitary

[Hydra009]

Basically this whole smiles campaign is just that - smiles and nothing more. Still no condoms in Africa, no hope for raped children, and no approval of loving same sex couples.

Exactly.  I've seen a lot about the Pope in the news lately.  A lot of genuinely good stuff BUT it's all stuff that the Pope personally did.  Good for him.  But for the Vatican, it's still business as usual.

This whole thing seems suspiciously designed as a PR campaign showcasing the goodness of the new pope to soften generally very negative attitudes towards the Church.  (Without doing anything to address the root causes of their bad PR)  And apparently, it's working.