Apparently the Pope is abdicating... - by Thirith
Queue on 14/3/2013 at 22:18
... and the reason Brylcreem still exists.
fett on 16/3/2013 at 14:38
Quote Posted by Vivian
The catholic church is just the daily mail of religions anyway. Who cares which face they choose to troll us through? It's all going to the same 'lololololo gays and condoms' bullshit it's been for years.
It matters a lot. The Catholic Church/The Pope practically set the moral policy for a large portion of the continent of Africa. They're almost directly to blame for the widespread AIDS epidemic because of their teachings on the evils of birth control and protection. They only recently acknowledged that the Holocaust actually happened. And millions of people look to the Pope to inform their opinions on stem cell research, gay marriage, etc. The attitudes of the guy in charge make some difference in how those things play out on the local level. Especially in parts of the world that don't have access to varied information and contrasting viewpoints.
I get what you're saying - it's not really going to change. But I think it can. In the last 15 years we've seen the Methodist denomination embrace gay leaders, the Southern Baptists start to move away from literal interpretation and the doctrine of verbal plenary inspiration, and the Assemblies of God lessening their support of racist and homophobic activist groups. It's just part of a groundswell slowly taking place to move the U.S. toward a post-Christian culture, but the Catholic Church is the giant that still has to fall. The conservative/liberal leanings of their leader make a huge difference over time.
faetal on 16/3/2013 at 17:09
What fett said. In the eyes of the devout, The Pope is literally their line to god.
So the views of the Pope are taken very, very seriously and literally by a huge number of people. Imagine how e.g. homophobia ends up manifesting in places like Latin America after a speech by the pope.
fett on 16/3/2013 at 17:44
AND it's a pretty direct correlation in some cultures, not one of these "well after decades of influence such and such happened." Check out the stats for the spread of AIDS in South Africa during Pope John Paul's tenure and his predecessor.
faetal on 16/3/2013 at 19:27
Yep. I almost wish that hell was real so I could imagine the looks on their pathetic, shrivelled faces when they arrive.
