Pope Francis Part Deux

So I've been thinking a lot about the Pope since his secret meeting with Kim Davis that showed he supports intolerance over love and acceptance and . . .

. . . I've come to realize that the Pope is just a man in a fancy white robe. He's nothing special. He's human. He's fallible. 

The Pope is a man, nothing more or less. His title means absolutely nothing.

He's no more holy than me or anyone else on the face of the Earth.

Yes, the Catholic Church has - pretty much - crowned him their King . . . but he's not a king.

He's no more elevated in life than the poorest peasant struggling for food. Oh, he has plenty to eat, and all his needs are taken care of, but that makes him lucky, and not special.

The Pope has shown that the Catholic Church, the ultimate leader of the Catholic Church, is no better than the meanest and intolerant bigot. There is no difference between the Pope and that bigot . . . other than that the Pope has a security detail.

Other than that, they're one and the same.

Really, this is not surprising. The Catholic Church has never been an all welcoming Church. They've always, like most churches, but not all, been intolerant. They, like the common, every day individual, have taken the Bible out of context to support their narrow minds. It's life. It's part and parcel of Churches from Baptist to Catholic to Muslim. 

Still, to know the Pope speaketh with a forked tongue is a good thing. To know the Pope lies is a good thing. It takes him off this high pedestal and puts him down in the mud with everybody else. He isn't special. He isn't different. He's human. 

It's sad, really, when the special is stripped away to reveal an intolerant individual who, just like a politician, says one thing but really means another. It's good that his secret meeting was revealed. It's good he was exposed for the hypocrite he is. 

The world can move on knowing this allegedly holy man really isn't special at all.

So, thank you, Pope Francis, for revealing your true, intolerant nature. Thank you for letting the world know that you support and embrace intolerance and, just like so many others, don't have a clue about two passages in the Bible: thou shall not judge and love thy neighbor.

Dear Pope Francis

Dear Pope Francis

There's a saying - actions speak louder than words. You have more than lived up to that saying with your recent action of meeting with Kim Davis. It was bad enough that you openly supported her violation of US Law. She has a job to do. If she can't do her job, she should resign. It's that simple. But, you actively support her disobedience of US Law. You encourage her disobedience.

If that weren't bad enough, you meet with this woman who claims to have deeply held religious beliefs. In that one moment of time, you demeaned millions of gay Christians, and their supporters. Your actions told those gay Christians that they don't matter to you at all. In that moment, you solidified and pronounced the continued intolerance - and non-Christian attitude - of the Catholic Church.

I left the Catholic Church decades ago because of its intolerance. Your actions, and those of the Church have shown, time and again, that love thy neighbor is the one part of the Bible you are unwilling to follow.

If I hadn't left decades ago, I would have left today upon hearing the news of your meeting with Kim Davis.

You've shown her far more concern and compassion than you have shown the gay community. By meeting with her, you shouted - quite loudly, I might add - that all your words about accepting the members of the gay community were nothing more than lies. For to meet with a woman who has nothing but contempt for the gay community, who only has deeply held religious beliefs when it applies to the gay community, shows your contempt and intolerance for the gay community.

I know you're not capable of understanding any of this. I know you're so lost in misinterpretation of religious dogma to fully understand that God made every single one of us. Every person is born the way God meant them to be born. Just as Kim Davis was born heterosexual, I was born homosexual. It's what God meant for my life. I guess he also meant for me, and others like me, to live in a world where we are bullied on a daily basis, where we are told that we matter less because of the way God made us, where we don't deserve equal protection under the law, and where even the Pope can openly show his intolerance for us and support those acting against us because the way we were born.

I know you believe you were doing the right thing in supporting Kim Davis' intolerance. I know you believe she is doing the right thing in breaking the law to support her religious objections that only apply to same-sex couples. I believe otherwise. I believe your actions and stance on this issue are harmful towards the millions of gay Christians in the world. I believe all religious institutions that continue to misinterpret, and take out of context, the Bible to use it as a weapon are harmful to those of us God made gay.

You probably disagree with this. It's your right. But before you support those who are intolerant, before you embrace them and encourage their intolerance, understand that their intolerance and your support of said intolerance is harmful.

Perhaps one day, you'll fully understand the concept of love thy neighbor.

S

Dear One Million (well, not really, they can't count) Moms

The first thing that amazes me about you is the name of your organization: One Million Moms! That's a falsehood right from the start. You might want to consider a more accurate title for your organization. 

Second - your main goal seems to be to call out organizations that don't gel with your belief system, as if your belief system is the only correct belief system on this planet.

I hate to break it to you: One Million Moms does not have exclusivity to a singular belief system for the planet.

Third - you outright lied on your site in regards to the recent legislation passed in IN. You stated "The Indiana law is identical in all fundamental respects to the 1993 federal RFRA signed into law by President Bill Clinton after it passed the U.S. House unanimously and the Senate 97-3".

If you had bothered to actually do some research, you would have known that the Indiana law has some marked differences from the 1993 Federal (the word is capitalized, btw) RFRA signed into law. You can do some Googling on your own and discover this for yourself and . . . delete the lie from your site. I mean, you hold everyone else to these high expectations you've established for your organization, so one would think you would adhere to those same standards. It will be quite interesting to see if you do.

If you don't . . . a suggested word of the day might be "hypocrite", but that's only a suggestion. I always find a word of the day helpful in building my vocabulary.

I also take issue with the fact that you think Jesus could not have been black. Have you met him? Were you around back in the day? Or, are you basing your opinion on the representations passed down by a white society that oppressed all other races? If so, you might want to read the Bible where it actually gives a description of a Jesus . . . who is not lily white with straight hair. Just a thought.

Another thing you're obviously not aware of . . . the Bible does not say "thou shall discriminate". Jesus ate with prisoners and prostitutes and lepers. He didn't judge. You might want to try following his example. Your lives - the few number of you in the organization - might be enriched.

If you treat people less than how you are expect to be treated . . . that's wrong.

As much as I personally dislike your views and your, in my opinion, narrow minded belief system, if I met you on the street I would treat you with respect and courtesy. I would hope that you never have to face the hate and discrimination and bigotry that people within the LGBT community face on a daily basis. I would hope that you are not fired for the way you were born, the way God made you. I would hope you are not abandoned by your family because of the way you were born.

You have obviously led a privileged life where you cannot understand discrimination in its rawest form. You can't understand how hateful and hurtful your words and disrespect are to a group of people that have had to fear for their lives in some instances . . .because of the way they were born.

Angie's List, no more so than anybody else, is anti-Christian, nor are they bigots, nor are any of the other people speaking out against the intolerance of the law IN just passed. They are compassionate human beings who believe that all people deserve equal treatment under the law. Can you say the same thing about yourselves? 

Well, no, you can't . . . because your words indicate a decided lack of compassion on your part. 

It's sad that an organization like yours exists in the first place. It's sad that your goal in life is to claim superiority over other people.

BTW - I used the link on your site to email Angie's list and applaud them for their efforts. I also encouraged all my friends and family to do the same. So, your site actually served a better purpose than you probably intended.

And, again, I hope you have a better life than the one you've wished upon and are supporting for the members of the LGBT community.

S