Come on. Let's be honest about it. Pope Benedict was a public relations nightmare for the Catholic Church. His aptitude for saying the worst possible thing at the worst possible moment made Prince Philip look like the very definition of a smooth operator.
So Catholics, in particular, and religious apologists, in general, have been jumping for joy at recent sympathetic words from Pope Francis on homosexuality, contraception and abortion and even, whisper it, the possibility that we atheists could be granted an entry visa to that place we don't actually believe exists. But the question we have to ask is: is this outbreak of papal compassion for real? Or, rather, is Pope Francis just a better spin doctor than his predecessor was? The first worrying sign which I detected is that hardline Catholics are not angered by Pope Francis's words – far from it, indeed.
Just last week, I debated this very subject on Voice of Russia radio with Peter D Williams of Catholic Voices; this is a man who opposes gay marriage and has – incredibly – likened abortion to the transatlantic slave trade.
The latest comments from Pope Francis on homosexuality, contraception and abortion have neither shaken him, nor have they changed his views one iota. Instead, he glibly points out that these are conciliatory words and do not signal any real change in policies, or in Catholic doctrine. Full story...
Related posts:
So Catholics, in particular, and religious apologists, in general, have been jumping for joy at recent sympathetic words from Pope Francis on homosexuality, contraception and abortion and even, whisper it, the possibility that we atheists could be granted an entry visa to that place we don't actually believe exists. But the question we have to ask is: is this outbreak of papal compassion for real? Or, rather, is Pope Francis just a better spin doctor than his predecessor was? The first worrying sign which I detected is that hardline Catholics are not angered by Pope Francis's words – far from it, indeed.
Just last week, I debated this very subject on Voice of Russia radio with Peter D Williams of Catholic Voices; this is a man who opposes gay marriage and has – incredibly – likened abortion to the transatlantic slave trade.
The latest comments from Pope Francis on homosexuality, contraception and abortion have neither shaken him, nor have they changed his views one iota. Instead, he glibly points out that these are conciliatory words and do not signal any real change in policies, or in Catholic doctrine. Full story...
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