Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces opened fire Sunday on a crowd of Palestinians waiting to collect humanitarian aid, providing a toll of at least 93 people killed. The latest deaths came…
How much power does the Catholic Church and Pope really have anymore? I can’t remember the last time anyone has mentioned the Pope in my day to day life. Not that I’m around people that would talk about it much to begin with.
Sometimes he’s mentioned in the daily conversations once he says something controversial or big. But the real base of supporters is in the churches; they do repeat what he said once a month or so and pray together for it to turn into reality
I guess you can say that, but I think what’s more important is that when he says something that goes against their presumptions they are forced to deal with it.
Francis’s low-bar acceptance of queer people really made a big difference in how many of his followers actually interact with them. Very, very far from perfect, but a huge number of people were forced to challenge their prejudices. Where I live, most people regarded the Venn diagram of gay people and child molesters to be a circle, and now while you’d still still be treated like shit, the idea that you can be gay without being the scum of the earth is much more common. The pope said they’re not bad people, so millions have to find it within themselves to follow what he said.
The Catholic Church will never be a beacon of progressivism. But they’ve been okay at giving stragglers a trustworthy lifeline to slightly more open minded positions.
I don’t think this excuses the bad stuff they’ve done (since this is always brought up any time anyone says anything positive about the church) but I don’t see the church disappearing anytime soon. I’ll take the good where I can find it. (Also the church is very influential where I live, so it’s important that they keep challenging the regressive ideas a lot of powerful and enfranchised people are holding on to. You don’t want to be challenging the pope by denying the atrocities in Gaza do you?)
Edit: just saw that you were replying to someone asking about the US. My comment is about Christians in the Middle East, both (Greek and Latin) Catholics and Maronites which are in communion with Rome. There’s spillover in attitude among the other, non-Catholic sects of Christianity, of course. And further, fainter spillover among others folks.
I was imagining individual people listening to his words. Having church leaders disseminate it makes it more powerful.
I haven’t gone to church in years and I freely admit I didn’t think my question all the way through before I asked it. Of course people will listen to what their clergy say. It’s kind of the point.
Religion is shrinking pretty steadily, though it’s also being used as a weapon more and more.
For example, Trump tear gassed a huge protest in DC in his last term, including members of the church he visited the front steps of. He did this to hold a Bible up for a photo op (and he held it upside down).
So on one hand, they have less devout followers. On the other, the concept of these religions is being weaponized and politicized to the point they often perform acts like the one mentioned above, which spit in the face of the very scripture they claim to follow.
I’m not Catholic and live in the US
How much power does the Catholic Church and Pope really have anymore? I can’t remember the last time anyone has mentioned the Pope in my day to day life. Not that I’m around people that would talk about it much to begin with.
Sometimes he’s mentioned in the daily conversations once he says something controversial or big. But the real base of supporters is in the churches; they do repeat what he said once a month or so and pray together for it to turn into reality
I guess you can say that, but I think what’s more important is that when he says something that goes against their presumptions they are forced to deal with it.
Francis’s low-bar acceptance of queer people really made a big difference in how many of his followers actually interact with them. Very, very far from perfect, but a huge number of people were forced to challenge their prejudices. Where I live, most people regarded the Venn diagram of gay people and child molesters to be a circle, and now while you’d still still be treated like shit, the idea that you can be gay without being the scum of the earth is much more common. The pope said they’re not bad people, so millions have to find it within themselves to follow what he said.
The Catholic Church will never be a beacon of progressivism. But they’ve been okay at giving stragglers a trustworthy lifeline to slightly more open minded positions.
I don’t think this excuses the bad stuff they’ve done (since this is always brought up any time anyone says anything positive about the church) but I don’t see the church disappearing anytime soon. I’ll take the good where I can find it. (Also the church is very influential where I live, so it’s important that they keep challenging the regressive ideas a lot of powerful and enfranchised people are holding on to. You don’t want to be challenging the pope by denying the atrocities in Gaza do you?)
Edit: just saw that you were replying to someone asking about the US. My comment is about Christians in the Middle East, both (Greek and Latin) Catholics and Maronites which are in communion with Rome. There’s spillover in attitude among the other, non-Catholic sects of Christianity, of course. And further, fainter spillover among others folks.
That makes sense.
I was imagining individual people listening to his words. Having church leaders disseminate it makes it more powerful.
I haven’t gone to church in years and I freely admit I didn’t think my question all the way through before I asked it. Of course people will listen to what their clergy say. It’s kind of the point.
…he is the head of state for a worldwide diaspora…
Religion is shrinking pretty steadily, though it’s also being used as a weapon more and more.
For example, Trump tear gassed a huge protest in DC in his last term, including members of the church he visited the front steps of. He did this to hold a Bible up for a photo op (and he held it upside down).
So on one hand, they have less devout followers. On the other, the concept of these religions is being weaponized and politicized to the point they often perform acts like the one mentioned above, which spit in the face of the very scripture they claim to follow.