I’m Not a Fan of the Pope

A lot of people love to champion the Pope, and his ‘progressive’ stances on issues. But as someone who was actually raised Catholic, I cannot find myself in the same boat.

You see, I am both acquainted with the Catholic ‘lingo,’ and with the sort of physical forms of punishment a Catholic teacher or nun would employ to ensure that a pupil master the art of critical reading and writing. And master those, I did.

So I am no fan of the Pope. A turd wrapped in rainbow glitter is still a turd.

Let’s begin with the most recent bit of news to hit the major media outlets: Pope suggests it’s better to be an atheist than a bad Christian.

On the surface, this seems like a good story. The Pope is condemning hypocritical Christians who do bad deeds, and then keep acting like they’re Christians. Without looking deeper, it’s hard to find fault with that. He then even goes one step further and says “better to be an atheist, than ‘a Catholic like that’ [a hypocritical one].”

But you have to ask yourself: what does Pope Francis mean by a good Catholic? If you think about it, I say it’s actually better to be an atheist than a GOOD Catholic (i.e., one who actually adheres to Catholic doctrine):

• A person who believes sex is only for marriage, and between a man and a woman, or it is otherwise sinful, and wrong
• A person who believes a family should have as many children as the Abrahamic god chooses, and should NOT engage in science-proven methods to plan or control the size of their family
• A person who believes abortion is murder, but would rather let a woman die in the hospital instead of allowing her a life-saving operation because of a suspected miscarriage
• A person who would rather endure the costs of the spread of HIV, than allow Africans access to condoms
• A person who does NOT turn in child molesters and pedophiles, but shuffles them away to other churches and parishes — a person like you, and your cardinals, Pope Francis

You say the atheist is ‘redeemed,’ because Jesus’ redemption is for all. And without further scrutiny, it would again, be difficult to find fault with this. The good natured and good hearted folk among us are simply not familiar with the Christian Doctrine of Redemption, where it is declared that Jesus’ death on the cross was to pay for ALL of the sins of humanity (once and for all). This hearkens back to the days of scape-goatism in the Old Testament, when an unblemished goat was released into the wilderness and left to die, as a way to make atonement for the sins of the Hebrew people. It is a redemptive price. This does not, mean however, that people will just go to heaven for being good — no. They have to believe in Jesus, and accept this ‘gift’ of redemption. Sure, faith without works is dead, but faith is still a requisite.

It’s hard to blame people for the confusion. After all, Pope Francis has a masterful P.R. agent which once worked for FOX News helping him build the reputation of his Office, which was so tarnished with Pope Benedict XVI’s unpopularity.

But when the Pope offers us atheists back-handed compliments on how it’s better to be like us, than a ‘hypocritical Catholic,’ he is NOT, in fact, complimenting us. And when he says ‘we must respect beliefs,’ because he understands the violence of those who attack blasphemers — he is in fact, NOT respecting my beliefs. He is advocating for violence, and comparing it to an attack on his mother. This is not only a trivialization of such a horrific event, but a de facto justification of violence. And if he has the right to voice his beliefs without violence, however disturbing or offensive they may be (and believe me, there is NOTHING more offensive than covering for pedophile priests), well then, so do I.

And there is absolutely NO justification for the murder of many innocent people during the Charlie Hebdo massacre. It is hard to even continue to read in a few sentences later, his baseless claim that he was not trying to justify it. But that ‘we should expect it’ (and here, I will remind the reader that this expectation we’re speaking of is of violence and murder) if we blaspheme someone’s religion. This repugnant piece of scum said we should expect violence and murder for the victimless ‘crime’ of blasphemy. This is a repugnant stance on an unspeakable crime — and veiled in such a way for people to emotionally side with him, while hiding the grim true nature of its intent.

Dear Pope, you are not progressive on women’s issues, you are not progressive on atheism, or even RECOGNIZE other paths to get to ‘heaven’ other than Catholicism… as if I cared. It is of no consequence to me. I don’t believe in gods or heavens, or magic, and afterlife myth. But I digress.

You say “apologize to gay people,” while still believing they’re leading a sinful life, and denying them the priesthood.

You say “abandon a life of ill-gotten gains,” while living in a palace, and filling your coffers with infinite monies from shady sources and on the backs of the poor.

You say “abandon a life of crime,” while NOT prosecuting child molesting priests, and simply shifting them to new congregations.

You say “every life is precious”… while NOT allowing safe-sex education or the distribution of condoms in Africa to help stop the spread of HIV.

You say MANY things, Pope Francis… But at the end of the day, NONE of it speaks louder than your actions.

I’d rather be an atheist any day, than ANY good Catholic, on any given day.