As progressive as the Pope is, he's still a Pope...

[FatAndFaithless]

How is he progressive though? He's made a few nice PR statements but hasn't made any actual change, has he?

I mean I get it, some of the things he says "sound" nice, but he can talk about "who am I to judge" all day, and still believe that atheists are going to hell unless they become catholic, because technically it isn't "he" who is judging, it's God. I'm all for fixing the Catholic church, but jumping on bullshit PR words (with the input of a newly-hired ex-Fox News Pr consultant, by the way) without any substance isn't helpful at all.

And I really don't like the "he's not as bad as his predecessors" argument. I'm not going to lower my standards for a morally normal human just because a couple of other guys were "worse".

[vorlon13]

It's great ta be da "head of state."

Pope is diplomatically immune

When Benedict went to Britain in 2010, British author and atheist campaigner Richard Dawkins asked authorities to arrest the pope to face questions over the Church's child abuse scandal.

Dawkins and the late British-American journalist Christopher Hitchens commissioned lawyers to explore ways of taking legal action against the pope. Their efforts came to nothing because the pope was a head of state and so enjoyed diplomatic immunity.

Perhaps if some sympathetic lawyers want to do some pro bono work? Otherwise I'm assuming the strategy is wishful but not practical.

The pope can bunk with Manuel Noriega.

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It can be done, it just takes the will to do it.