Pope Leo is not Pope Benedict, Thank Goodness



Pope Leo gave his first Christmas mass. Like all Pope Christmas masses it got lots of press. We have to remember there is not much news at that time of the year so the Christmas Mass fills in the space. 

I always take a look at news items that cover Popes' Christmas Mass. Pope Francis gave nice ones. But, his predecessor, Pope Benedict, was a little bonkers. One year used the Christian Mass to rail at the sin of homosexuality. 

Let's consider the demographics of that Benedict mass. Five to ten percent of the Catholic denomination is gay. Add to the gay members their parents, siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews. It seems to me Pope Francis understood the numbers and spent his career trying to undo the damage done by Benedict. A few of Benedict's appointees were canned. Others, like NYC Cardinal Tim Dolan aged out and are being replaced with better people. Pope Francis' deal with the Benedict men was, "OK, you can be right wing nut cases. Just don't speak about your Benedict views in public." More than one was dismissed for railing against gay marriage and abortion in the press.

The self destructive elements are still in the Catholic hierarchy. A lot of the worst ones are in among the U.S. Bishops. Offsetting those harmful forces are good ones in Europe, especially Germany. 

Christianity will forever be known as the faith of the talking snake. Yet, forces inside push it along through time and extend its life for a while yet.

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