by the same token, he wants to make his institution more accessible, more forgiving, and more USEFUL in the world--which is why he started throwing all the rich bi-----shops who were farting through silk drawers out of their mansions with wine cellars, sending the lardasses to work with the poor, and telling churches that if they have space they need to use it to house the homeless, not use it to make money for their pet projects. He's riding the ride (in the FIAT), if not walking the walk (in those scuffed up old brown--not red--shoes).
That said, his comment about the sanctity of life had as much--if not MORE--to do with the death penalty than it did with Roe v. Wade, especially with this little bit of nudge-wink coming out in the weeks before he visited:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/04/pope-francis-abortion-boston-catholics
And he DID go to the prison, and he DID talk about the 'hopelessness' of life sentences as well as the death penalty. He had a lot to say about a massive variety of subjects, all of them focused on social justice and basic humanitarian issues. Now, no one has to listen to him, but his acolytes certainly did listen to him, and they'll take that shit to heart--it will, one way or another, infuse itself into the national conversation...and that is the ULTIMATE definition of clout.
Now, this abortion article I cited, above, certainly reads like your average pro-choice individual would aver "Well, fuck him--not his body, not his decision, etc." (a position I hold, FWIW), but in actual fact this is a very large step forward for him and his organization, done in a sneaky way under this big umbrella of a forgiveness/mercy theme. It's along the lines of the "Who am I to judge?" comment with regard to LGBT people, which, while some people said "Not nearly enough" (and of course, it isn't) was nonetheless an enormous symbolic step.
To those not affiliated with his church, it's, well, bullshit, but to those who ARE affiliated with the church, and riddled with guilt because of their pokey and silly rules, it's a sign that change is afoot, the aircraft carrier that is the Vatican is making all preparations to get slowly and painfully underway, and people can stress less about those issues as years go by. I spent part of my youth in Roman Catholic Europe, and many of my old friends and neighbors are beside themselves with this guy. They are very pleased with him, in a way that I haven't seen since Vatican II.
I think Francis is hoping he can last long enough until some intractable bastards get too old to vote in the College of Cardinals, and his younger, fresher, more hip choices will continue the forward movement. He has suggested that he might like to retire rather than die in the saddle, and he may well pull a Benedict eventually and retire to his little dorm room behind the fancy building, do a little contemplating, and maybe do a little recreational travel in mufti, or something.
= new reply since forum marked as read
