As usual the christian asswipes backing this bigoted piece of shit used photos from a real religious celebration in South America. Thousands of people were photo faked to appear to be Kim supporters. There is a war on Christianity but it is being fought from within.

I knew Francis didn't endorse Kim, but it's so nice to know he didn't even meet with her secretly. Given her very questionable actions and the slimy characters who have allied with her, that just felt wrong -- and it turns out it was just a lie.

This is what I thought happened if it happened at all. Those here at DU who are always looking for a reason to hate Francis will just jump at anything.

“Hating is easy. It's loving that's hard”
― Morgan Llywelyn

And I agree with your comment.

Glad Vatican is walking this back. For me, it really took away from all the good accomplished by his visit.

...who pulled the strings:

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a38440/pope-francis-swindled-kim-davis-meeting/

behind this and how they set it up. The contacts are delineated. I think the Pope was "ratfcked", as the article says.

Ever since Davis became a celebrity by sitting in the pokey for a few days for refusing to sign marriage licenses for same-sex couples, she and her team of lawyers and publicists have been making up and exaggerating her support, from the gathering in Peru to her "meeting" with the Pope.

All the while - has she shown up for work? If my tax dollars were paying for her wages and benefits, I'd be demanding that she show up and perform her duties at work or step down. And it should be done belligerently. People should be sitting outside her office door and asking, "Where's Kim?"

She's been unfaithful to more people than just her ex-husbands.

she was a Democrat and she would have easily lost in the primaries next election. But the GOP will protect her.

Kim Davis' enablers lied.

really address what it was...this is a very vague statement...those who like the Pope will see this as vindication...others will see through this as CYA and really nothing more.

they could have done so during numerous occasions during the week.

Her claims were entirely inconsistent with everything else that happened during his visit here. Now it finally makes sense. She and her lawyer somehow got an "in" and tried to exploit it for their own purposes.

The vatican has been a giant ball of political gamesmanship and backstabbing and intrigue for around the last 2000 years. This incident appears to be yet another incident.

The statement is vague because there will now be a political battle behind closed doors about it.

I really don't understand how people can ignore the fact that Francis is anti-LGBTQIA, and he has traveled to countries to speak against equality laws, and even in front of congress he managed to slip it in.

Nothing about a visit with Kim Davis is out of character for him.

her to defy law as she claims? If so, he knew of her circumstances and what his encouragement would do.

her more so then the rest.

She claimed he gave those crosses to her and her husband, but according to several places I've read, they were for her parents
Davis is not Catholic but her parents are
It's why I was so confused about this from the start
Church leaders generally do not give out Catholic related goodies like that to non-members... especially ex-members

At the canonization of Edith Stein, a few relatives were given a private audience with the pope. He gave them rosaries, not exactly appropriate for Jews!

I know this first hand, as one of those rosaries was given to me to give to my mother, who is a catholic.

I have never heard of an ex-member pf the Catholic Church who was given a rosary by a high ranking member of the Church. I can't even think of a head of state that was ever given one
Kim Davis is an ex-member, though I don't know when she would have left and really don't care when she did
I wish she'd just go away

Even in this thread, someone already put out the word that anyone who didn't agree that the pope was innocent was looking for a reason to hate the Pope. Like every other issue surrounding this Papal visit, the conversation has been poisoned - and John Boehner knew that would happen when he invited him to speak to our congress!

Not me. Not even that it took them a week to come out and say it wasn't a personal meeting. They had to go back and read about the lunatic on social media, and find out which way she would affect his visit (hurt or help). Apparently, she could hurt the image he's trying to get out.

This Pope is all about appearances, and I'm of the opinion that this controversy was handled in precisely that manner.

When he was given a microphone he talked about the issues with income inequality, helping immigrants and doing something about climate change. He did that in front of our Congress and the UN General Assembly.

I know what the Catholic Church stands for on issues with Abortion and Marriage equality and it sucks. This Pope has not reversed his opinion on these. I do respect that as someone anti-abortion he is also against the death penalty and wars plus wants to help the poor. At least he cares about the fetus AFTER it is born. But this Pope has made it a point to not prioritize abortion or anti-marriage equality almost to the point of being non-issues in his speeches. It would be nice if he was on our team with these issues but to have him not out there talking about the importance of them is a good first step for the papacy.

I have no desire to be a Catholic but I appreciate that this guy is out there fighting for important causes. He has a huge following and could make a big impact in change with some key issues. And the fact that he does downplay abortion/anti-gay rhetoric maybe others will too.

The Pope was in the US for the World Meeting of Families, a multi day event produced by his Church which was about 'the family' and which excluded all LGBT Catholic voices and groups from participation. That was the reason for his visit.
Last November, the Vatican held another similar conference in Rome, to which it invited anti gay religious right leaders from all over the world. You say he is downplaying anti gay activity but that claim does not hold up to the weight of the facts, facts you don't want to admit to, but which remain facts nonetheless.

"Vatican Strengthens Ties with Evangelicals and Mormons Against Gay Marriage"
"The presence of American evangelicals and the LDS Church was particularly notable. Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, and Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, each gave speeches, and representatives from the Heritage Foundation and the Family Research Council in Washington attended. President Henry Eyring of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ first presidency spoke and Elder Tom Perry of the LDS’s Quorum of the Twelve also joined. In the United States, this trio of faiths has worked together to stand against the government’s Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate, but it was the first time they were coming together at the Vatican to talk about marriage."
http://time.com/3597245/vatican-evangelicals-mormons-gay-marriage/


So how do you explain that away? Francis was the Keynote speaker, it was produced by the Vatican. Look at that list of luminaries!!!!!! Comment upon that list of luminaries!!!

I don't think 2014 article even remotely confirms the poster's point...yet they have been posting it over and over in this discussion and others...maybe they are hoping no one actually clicks on it. Or maybe they haven't gotten further than the headline themselves.

Anyway, I agree with you, and I think some people won't be happy unless they can live in a world in which everyone is an ideological clone of themselves.

BTW great Bernie vid! I hope a few watch it.

This is so true, and I just don't get it. It is similar to the attitude that my opinions are 100.0% correct, and yours are 0.00% correct, and there is no gray area in-between. Too bad people can't relax and live a little.

From your article:

"Pope Francis did not spearhead the colloquium, as many casual observers might think. It was organized and led by German Cardinal Gerhard Müller, a strong conservative voice..."

If you read the full transcript of the Pope's opening remarks ( I posted it on another forum in response to another instance you posted this Time article) you can see he specifically never mentions gay marriage and encourages the colloquium to focus on more pressing issues plaguing families, like child poverty.

[div class="excerpt" style="margin-left:1em; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-radius:0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]Pope Francis did not spearhead the colloquium, as many casual observers might think. It was organized and led by German Cardinal Gerhard Müller, a strong conservative voice at the Pope’s Synod on the Family last month. Müller is the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican group that sponsored the event. Still, Pope Francis gave an opening address to attendees, in which he affirmed the Church’s teaching that children have a right to a mother and a father.

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]Never mentioned Gay marriage? Then what was that about?

Or how about this Pope quote:[/font]

[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#dcdcdc; padding-bottom:5px; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom:none; border-radius:0.4615em 0.4615em 0em 0em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]http://www.catholic.com/blog/jimmy-akin/pope-francis-on-abortion-and-homosexual-marriage[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#f0f0f0; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top:none; border-radius:0em 0em 0.4615em 0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]He wrote: “In the coming weeks, the Argentine people will face a situation whose outcome can seriously harm the family. . . .

“At stake is the identity and survival of the family: father, mother, and children. At stake are the lives of many children who will be discriminated against in advance and deprived of their human development given by a father and a mother and willed by God. At stake is the total rejection of God’s law engraved in our hearts.”

Cardinal Bergoglio continued: “Let us not be naive: this is not simply a political struggle, but it is an attempt to destroy God’s plan. It is not just a bill (a mere instrument) but a ‘move’ of the father of lies who seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.”

The cardinal also noted that “today the country, in this particular situation, needs the special assistance of the Holy Spirit to bring the light of truth on to the darkness of error, it need this advocate to defend us from being enchanted by many fallacies that are tried at all costs to justify this bill and to confuse and deceive the people of good will.”

That's Cardinal Bergoglio.

The full transcript of the Pope's opening address at Humanum is available online. I'm sure you can cherry pick stuff out of it you don't like. He never mentions gay marriage specifically. It is not the primary focus. Of course he thinks marriage should be between a man and a woman, he's the POPE. He never said he didn't. But he's not actively trying to prevent gay people from getting married, and he has previously told his catholic bishops to refocus their energies on things the church should be working on, like poverty and he's basically telling the church leaders at Humanum to do the same.

[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#dcdcdc; padding-bottom:5px; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom:none; border-radius:0.4615em 0.4615em 0em 0em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]54. Though we were talking about Pope Francis?[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#f0f0f0; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top:none; border-radius:0em 0em 0.4615em 0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]That's Cardinal Bergoglio.

The full transcript of the Pope's opening address at Humanum is available online. I'm sure you can cherry pick stuff out of it you don't like. He never mentions gay marriage specifically. It is not the primary focus. Of course he thinks marriage should be between a man and a woman, he's the POPE. He never said he didn't. But he's not actively trying to prevent gay people from getting married, and he has previously told his catholic bishops to refocus their energies on things the church should be working on, like poverty and he's basically telling the church leaders at Humanum to do the same.

What I'm saying is those statements were as a cardinal in Argentina 5 years ago. Did he make statements to that effect as Pope?

[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#dcdcdc; padding-bottom:5px; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom:none; border-radius:0.4615em 0.4615em 0em 0em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/02/21/pope-transgender-people-are-like-nuclear-weapons[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#f0f0f0; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top:none; border-radius:0em 0em 0.4615em 0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]According to the National Catholic Reporter, he said: “Let’s think of the nuclear arms, of the possibility to annihilate in a few instants a very high number of human beings.

“Let’s think also of genetic manipulation, of the manipulation of life, or of the gender theory, that does not recognize the order of creation.”

“With this attitude, man commits a new sin, that against God the Creator.

“The true custody of creation does not have anything to do with the ideologies that consider man like an accident, like a problem to eliminate.

“God has placed man and woman and the summit of creation and has entrusted them with the earth.

“The design of the Creator is written in nature.”

[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#dcdcdc; padding-bottom:5px; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom:none; border-radius:0.4615em 0.4615em 0em 0em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/06/pope-slovakia-referendum_n_6630876.html[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#f0f0f0; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top:none; border-radius:0em 0em 0.4615em 0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]Speaking at his weekly general audience on Wednesday, the pope said: "I greet the pilgrims from Slovakia and, through them, I wish to express my appreciation to the entire Slovak church, encouraging everyone to continue their efforts in defense of the family, the vital cell of society."

[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#dcdcdc; padding-bottom:5px; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom:none; border-radius:0.4615em 0.4615em 0em 0em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/pope-francis-suggests-gay-marriage-threatens-traditional-families[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#f0f0f0; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top:none; border-radius:0em 0em 0.4615em 0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]“The family is threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage, by relativism, by the culture of the ephemeral, by a lack of openness to life,” Francis said at a Mass in Manila. “These realities are increasingly under attack from powerful forces, which threaten to disfigure God’s plan for creation.”

[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#dcdcdc; padding-bottom:5px; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom:none; border-radius:0.4615em 0.4615em 0em 0em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]http://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/09/24/pope-basis-of-marriage-being-called-into-question/[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#f0f0f0; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top:none; border-radius:0em 0em 0.4615em 0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]“I cannot hide my concern for the family, which is threatened, perhaps as never before, from within and without,” Francis said. “Fundamental relationships are being called into question, as is the very basis of marriage and the family. I can only reiterate the importance and, above all, the richness and the beauty of family life.”

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]Let me also note that he has NEVER ever said anything about regretting those comments or having a different opinion from when he was a Cardinal.

His words are always carefully crafted to be vague. He is not a Liberal. He is not a Conservative. He is the Pope and he is trying to walk a line to attract liberals back to the Church without changing anything which would drive the conservatives away.

Thus why I, and others call him the PR pope. He is about improving the image of the church while he will not change ONE damn thing.

At least he won't so long as he is getting people to come back to the church. However, if the flood of people converting away from Catholicism continues the Church will either have to change (or as they call it "develop" their doctrines) or it will die.

The churches teachings on social issues hurt people. We can not let up on him, or the church, till they change.[/font]

as someone who has been amassing an arsenal of quotes to support their hardened opinion, but FWIW he expressed regret to his friend here and supposedly said there is no place in the church for homophobia:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/02/us/pope-gay-washington/

It remains to be seen whether he makes public comments that are more supportive of gay/women's rights as some point. In the meantime, it's just not a big issue for him. He's focused on poverty, climate, and income inequality. I don't think he's doing anything sneaky to attract liberals. In fact, it's no secret that he's he's alienating tons of conservative Catholics by demanding action on climate, his anti-capitalism stuff, and by NOT focusing on abortion. But he's doing it anyway.

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]But can I ask you if maybe your is just as hardened if not more?

If I seem rigid in my opinion it is because the evidence to me is solid as stone. But this does not mean I am unwilling to change my mind.

Let me ask you, what will it take to change your mind?
[hr]

For me, I would change my mind if the pope's deeds changed. If the pope would change (or make public and unambigious attempts to change) the Churches social policy I would recant my condemnations of him. And By deeds I don't mean meaningless gestures like washing feet or saying nice things.

I mean saying the chuch has changed it policy on Homosexuality. That they no longer consider it a sin. Or that opposing SSM was wrong and start recognizing and officiating gay marriages.

Or if he can't make these change if he TRIED publically and in a way that would lead to a tide change in the Church. If he came out and Said the Church should change it doctrine and that holding being gay to be a sin was wrong and that they should recognize ssm, reproductive rights, etc

Make it clear. Unambiguous. And Public so that the ball could get rolling.

The Pope is a Franciscan. To quote St. Francis of Assisi[/font]

[div class="excerpt" style="margin-left:1em; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-radius:0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]...love one another, as the Lord says: "This is My commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you." And let them show their love by the works they do for each other, according as the Apostle says: "let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth."

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]If he proved himself with deeds I would change my tune.

But we both know he will never do that....but if he did I would change my tune.

Your link has him apologizing for offending him, but not for saying what he said. He claims homophobia has no place in the church but still calls gay marriage from the devil and his church still condemns it, even calling the passage of gay marriage in Ireland a "defeat for humanity." His deeds make those words ring hollow to me.
[hr]

Now you tell me, what has to happen for you to change your mind?

What evidence do you require to think that this is all talk? We do not have to agree, but I would like to know that all my effort in my discussion with you was not pointless.[/font]

Pope Francis is a Jesuit, not a Franciscan.

- A Secular Franciscan

There are a lot of misconceptions, sometimes willful, about the Pope.

while not expecting to agree with him on everything.

And, as you say, at least he cares about people not just as fetuses, but after they're born.

This does not mean 'mistreat minorities then demand that they refrain from criticism of that mistreatment'.

Jesus exempted no one. Jesus called no on disordered. And I myself do not use that extreme rhetoric in return, although by logic the Jesus Vicar's actions should be clear messages as to how he wishes to be treated, what he does to others should be exactly what he wants for himself. But I'm not going to denigrate him just because he does that to me. I will criticize his bigotry and opposition to contraception.
I will even question the choice of teaching people to abstain from condoms while hundreds of thousands of people die from a virus they can avoid by using condoms. Only 13% of Ugandans say they have ever used a condom. 7.2% of Ugandans have HIV. 44% of them are Catholics. Over 60,000 Ugandans die each year from AIDS leaving countless orphans. The US has 10 times the number of people, but Uganda sees 10 times the number of AIDS deaths.
But it does not matter if the Church tells them condoms are a sin, because rich American Catholics know better and use any birth control they want, right? That's what I keep hearing, that these deadly teachings are of no concern to the affluent who do as they please....
Over 100,000 people die in Africa every single month from AIDS. That matters. They matter.

just saying.

Take your damn blinders off and oh, read the Time article that you keep posting like the rest of us have done. Which actually spoke more about the fact that Pope Francis wants the church to move away from the Wedge issues much to the disliking of the rest of the Catholic Church.

It seems like the more you post that article the more people realize that Pope Francis ISN'T the problem with the Catholic Church so please keep sharing it.

I make no mistake, The Pope is not a liberal, is dead set against a woman's right to choose, is against Gay rights--he doesn't pretend otherwise, but would he prop up a nutty, greedy attention-seeking woman while on a historic visit?

team. I'm sorry but Francis and his Vatican have been very proactive about organizing with the US and international religious right particularly to oppose marriage equality and contraceptive choice. For those of us who do follow events and actions, it was predictable that they would meet.
Tony Perkins of FRC was an invited participant at the Vatican's anti equality conference last November and he gave it lots of good press, on Friday Tony Perkins arranged to give Kim Davis an award in DC, same day as Francis would be in town. After the award, Kim met Francis just as Perkins had met Francis previously.

http://time.com/3597245/vatican-evangelicals-mormons-gay-marriage/

The truth is available.

Maybe it's my bias as seeing her the way I do instead of acknowledging her hateful support system. I just figured the Pope is a political creature, and that meeting that woman would make him look foolish, when he's trying for credibility

I find it hard to believe that the Pope didn't know who Kim Davis was. Yes, I can already see someone saying this thing in the Vatican was the work of his underlings. But really, he didn't know about this conference that took place at the Vatican or who was involved? Pfft!

The PR Pope is a bigot like his whole church. I hated the fawning, uncritical celebrity style worship of him by the media and here in DU. He believes in a magical sky monster who hates gay people and yet loves humble bigots like Ms. Davis.

That's a god of hate. Too bad He doesn't really exist. The pope is a glorified con artist in a stupid hat.

Oh but lol at all the wishful thinking from progressives that this one was any different from the long line of haters in which he follows."Pray for me" my ass. Classic Jesuit bullshit.

/Raised Catholic, now adamant atheist

So there's no real point discussing it. Those who are inclined to like the Pope or who want to see the Catholic Church improve point out that the meeting was organized by more conservative members of the Vatican Hierarchy; but those who would rather see the Pope vilified or who want to see the Catholic Church treated like a hate group aren't satisfied with that response. So it doesn't really lead anywhere productive.

Bryant

He is a Jesuit, the best educated and smartest RCs out there. While he made commonsense talk about the climate and economics, he is still an RC and it is obvious that he has not changed his views on the GLBT community. He's merely saying what a Christian would usually say. Why would anyone expect any different? The people that were duped were many of us on DU.

The stories that came out were all about him urging her on and talking about conscientious objection. He knew what she was known for which is enough. Not sorry apologists, the pope is just as nasty inside as his predecessors. He just doesn't wear it on his outside as well.

The Pope was in Washington D.C. on Tuesday September 22 and Wednesday September 23.

TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY.

As far as I know, those weren't state, federal, or national holidays.

Shouldn't she have been in Kentucky, doing, err... refusing to do her job and preventing fellow employees from doing theirs?

After all, that's what the state of Kentucky pays her $80,000 a year to (not) do Monday through Friday right?

shouldn't be allowed days off? If your local Clerk of Court took the day to meet Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton would you have the same reaction?

Bryant

If the Pope had come to Kentucky, eh, I wouldn't have said anything about it.

But Kentucky is 500 miles from D.C.

Either his advisors were ignorant or they did and arranged the meeting knowing who she was and the controversy surrounding her. FUCK, This is really taking the shine off of his cross for me.

licenses to same sex couples. Was that true?

I smell a something bigger than a mouse.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027215584

Gotta give it up for good PR, though.

was invited by the Apostolic Nuncio to the US and NOT the Vatican itself.

The Nuncio, Archibishop Carlo Maria Viganò, was appointed by Pope Benedict (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Maria_Vigan%C3%B2) and likely knew, sympathized, and coordinated with yet another Ratzi appointee, the President of the US Conference of Catholic BIshops, Archibishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, KY. Kurtz is mentioned in another link posted in a response upthread.

Here is a good account of the visit from The Atlantic: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/pope-francis-allegedly-met-with-kim-davis-what-does-it-mean/408166/

How on earth any thrice-divorced person could be considered a "person of conscience" by anyone in the Catholic Church is beyond me. But here is a tortured (IMO) essay that attempts to justify just that, to show that she has her defenders in that Church. https://canonlawblog.wordpress.com/2015/09/07/is-kim-davis-a-hypocrite/

I personally believe that Pope Francis had no idea of Davis's personal history. But there are two many RW Catholics in the US who did and who deliberately put him in an unenviable position. While I find Francis far from being liberal, he is at least attempting to move the Church into the modern era, even if by very small steps. And his voice is resonating globally with respect to inequality, climate change, and other extremely important issues.

Full disclosure: I am a VERY lapsed Catholic. My late (fervently Irish Catholic) father, who was for 37 years County Clerk of Court (he ran unopposed) in a small town in a red state, would NEVER EVER have used his religious beliefs as an excuse to deny issuing a marriage license to any persons who were legally entitled to be married. We have many LGBT family members and friends whom we love. But even if we didn't ... Dad always understood the separation between Church and State.

I firmly believe that Kim Davis is wrong and should either do her job, resign, or go to jail. There are many practicing Catholics who also believe that. I also excoriate and abhor any who arranged/helped to arrange this meeting, knowing full well how it would be perceived. It is they who should rightfully feel any wrath due for this situation.

When the Vatican uses words like "blindsided" and "exploited"--and they have used those PRECISE words to describe this incident--I'm pretty certain heads are gonna roll.

Figuratively, if not literally!!



Go get those two bastards, escort them off the property!

Right away, Your Holiness!!


Yeah, man--you're screwed. We heard him, he knows it was you and the Nuncio, and he's gunning for ya--pack yer bags, kiss the sweet life goodbye--you're gonna be driving those Bass Weejuns you got on, fool!

That bastard Viganò told me this was a sure bet! That little shit has RUINED me!! RUINED me!!!


Awww, shit....here they come to drag me out!!!! Damn, you, Ratzinger--why did you have to retire? Ya basstid!!!

If the Pope met with and blessed the Easter Bunny, it would be about as real as Church doctrine and teachings that dates back 2000 to 6000 years ago.

I personally couldn't care the least what he says or who he meets.

Same sex marriage was won as a secular right.

Spin spin spin. People will lap up the crumbs the Vatican throws them.

Pathetic.

a holy war commanded by his god, still thinks gay couples with children are child abusers, still thinks we have a mental disorder, still thinks we can only be good people if we completely abstain from sex and have no intimate relationships.

A "liberal like Pope"? Hardly. He is parroting the same Church talking points that have been around for a long while.

He has not made one single change to Church teaching. Not a single one. Every one of his statements has been perfectly in line with long-established positions.

There's not even a single pic of Fibbing Kimmie and Frank.

Of course, maybe she'll gin up a bad photoshop, of her, Frank, and thousands of Peruvians praying for her!

Now we hear of the Pope's meeting with his gay friends? How come this wasn't known until now, a week after the Kim Davis story surfaced?

Wow! Talk about damage control!

who are the liars here.

should be ashamed of herself . Hope she has visited the confessional to ask for forgiveness.

He knew this was an excellent opportunity to send out a dog whistle.

The CYA we're seeing here sickens me.

Julie