http://www.salon.com/2014/06/22/pope_franciss_liberal_reformer_image_is_all_smoke_and_mirrors_partner/
QuoteTHE IMAGE OF Pope Francis is that he is a breath of fresh air, more progressive on social issues than his predecessor and a kinder, gentler pope. But when the facts are examined, you see that he is none of these things. There is an enormous disconnect between who the pope really is in terms of his policies and his public relations image, as crafted by the Vatican’s PR man, previously with Fox News. The current PR mission is all about reversing the incredible decline in fundraising under the last pope from the U.S. Catholic Church in particular. Pope Francis has made any number of statements that seem to indicate change and progress that are not reflected in policy. In fact, in the wake of such comments from Pope Francis, the Vatican often makes a point to explicitly state that no church policy has changed.
While the pope transmits a populist vibeâ€"particularly about the economyâ€" he is an old-school conservative who, despite his great PR, maintains nearly all of the socialpolicies of his predecessors and keeps up a hardline Vatican “cabinet.†He has done virtually nothing to change the policies of the church to match his more compassionate rhetoric. People excuse the pope, claiming that he doesn’t have much power to make changes, but this simply isn’t true. Further, it is ludicrous to suggest that a man who denies comprehensive reproductive health care (including all forms of birth control including condoms and abortion) and comprehensive family planning is a man who cares about the poor of this world. The bigotry of homophobia and sexism cloaked in religion are still bigotry and sexism. By giving to the church, American Catholics aren’t supporting “progress,†they are supporting oppression and in this way are complicit in the bigotry, sexism, and oppression of the church.
People in the U.S. have fallen hard for Pope Francis. According to polls conducted byThe Washington Post/ABC and CNN, his approval ratings with Americans are sky high. “Seven-in-ten U.S. Catholics also now say Francis represents a major change in direction for the church,†according to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center. In truth, while he is a PR darling, the new pope aligns closely on social issues with his predecessor, the wildly unpopular Pope Benedict XVI.
The wheels were set in motion to change the perception of the church before Pope Francis was elected. In March of 2010, Pope Benedict XVI had only a 40 percent favorable rating in the United States. By June of that year, the U.S. Bishops were planning a PR campaign to soften their image and attract the younger generation. Shortly thereafter, the Vatican hired Greg Burke, a former Fox News correspondent, as a senior communications adviser reporting directly to the Vatican’s third-ranking official, Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu. The New York Times points out that Mr. Burke had previously met Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, and “did not rule out that being known by the cardinal might have helped him get hired.†Clearly, the American cardinals have a great deal of influence over Vatican PR, given how much Vatican funding comes from the U.S. Burke is a traditionalist, a celibate, a member of the conservative catholic alliance Opus-Dei, and his spiritual practices reportedly include self-flagellation, in keeping with Opus Dei traditionalists.
In addition to Burke, the Vatican has also hired the consulting firm of McKinsey & Company. The consulting firm was engaged to “study the Holy See’s communications, with an eye to creating a more effective media operation.†The goal was that this hire, along with that of Burke the year before, would reverse the declining view of the Church caused, in part, by public relations miscues.
A poll of U.S. Catholics conducted at the end of February 2013, just before Pope Francis was elected, indicated that most felt the church was out of touch. Pope Benedict’s favorable ratings were still only at 40 percent. Clearly, Pope Benedict was not the man to implement the PR vision of the church. The New York Times article from March 5, 2013, by Laurie Goodstein and Megan Thee-Brenan, which details the polling results, includes a telling quote from Eric O’Leary, a funeral director from Des Moines, Iowa. He says, “I would like them not to be so quick to condemn people because of their sexual preference or because of abortion, or to refuse priests the right to get married or women to be priests. I don’t think the church should get involved in whether or not people use birth control.†This sentiment typifies that of a majority of Catholics in America.
Note: article is much longer than I can post, highly recommend you read it. I have said from the first the man is a fabrication, smoke and mirrors to put a seeming face of change on a homophobic and misogynistic religion. The same old evil with a different face, period.
As Neil Young once coined.. A kinder, gentler machine gun hand..
Yeah, at first I kind of saw it as perhaps a shift, but it is smoke and mirrors.
Now perhaps Frankie does hold the conviction he says he does, but actions speak louder than words Frankieboy.
Now we're supposed to think he's changed anything by saying mafia is ex communicated from god, not just the church and what exactly does this accomplish? Not a damned thing. It's like telling atheists we can still go to the place that doesn't even exist, heaven. I joke about it, but take it about as seriously as the single sheet toilet paper trick.
Its no different with Catholicism or Mormons and gays or any other religion- the core belief remains, no matter how much you rearrange the fascia. Like a thread I posted a couple of weeks ago about Mormonism and gays, same thing. That people buy into the nonsense just shows how gullible the religious are.
You gotta give em credit. They have the greatest bullshit story ever told. It's even better than my dog ate my homework. I wish I had thought of it.
I've been saying this since the beginning. My boyfriend seems to like him, I'd slap that shit down but it's just not an argument I'm willing to get into. He's not going to return to being Catholic because of the Church's antigay stance, pedophile priests, and other things, and that's good enough for me.
Quote from: The Skeletal Atheist on June 23, 2014, 02:51:20 PM
I've been saying this since the beginning. My boyfriend seems to like him, I'd slap that shit down but it's just not an argument I'm willing to get into. He's not going to return to being Catholic because of the Church's antigay stance, pedophile priests, and other things, and that's good enough for me.
Besides- and i gotta say it- the dude just dresses tacky.
Quote from: stromboli on June 23, 2014, 02:55:07 PM
Besides- and i gotta say it- the dude just dresses tacky.
:rotflmao:
Lets face it.
He never would have got the job if he sincerely thought things needed to change.
Any Pope's views must closely coincide with the ultra conservatives who elected him.
Its all a farce. The Vatican is the most transparent organization on Earth in my opinion.
He insulted the mafia....maybe they'll whack him.