Is Pope Francis Just Doing Savvy P.R. For the Oppressive, Dysfunctional Church? | Alternet

In a recent discussion concerning Pope Francis the following passage was highlighted:

He said that people of other religions were also praying for peace, and - departing from his prepared text - he urged atheists to join forces with believers.

I invite even non-believers to desire peace. (Join us) with your desire, a desire that widens the heart. Let us all unite, either with prayer or with desire, but everyone, for peace,' he said, drawing sustained applause from the crowd.

To wit, the OP responded;

So, Pope Francis? All other things being equal, I'd be glad to help, but I'm certainly not going to pray. I'd actually rub on some elbow-grease and get to work. But, the "work" that I'm involved in is an attempt to show how irrational thought is the culprit. Unfortunately for you and the RCC, irrational thought is what leads people to accept your Bible as "true."

I have to agree with the OP, prayer is irrational in the face of crushing poverty. Prayer is not going to put food in the belly of one who is hungry. And prayer does not pay the bills. Which brings me to this,,,

The difficulty I have with this Pope, is separating the man from the role of the Papacy. The man seems to be OK on the surface, but as overseer of the RCC he has an agenda, it is his agenda I worry about. " Resistance is futile" keeps running through my head,,,

Yet it is that very hope that fills me with despair, for it is hope destined to be dashed. Based on nothing much—just appealing optics and some pretty words—the hope offered by Francis is mere cover for an institution that models, in the guise of holiness, the very sort of patriarchal rule over half the world’s population that facilitates violence against women, as well as their impoverishment and oppression. It is a model the pope has stated he has no intention of changing.

[,,,]
Chua-Eoan, who co-authored with Elizabeth Dias Time’s profile of Pope Francis, admits as much in the video. “Everyone’s saying he’s going to allow divorced Catholics to have Communion, he’s going to open the church to gay people, he’s going to be much more open about abortion, but he actually never said any of that,” Chua-Eoan says in the video. “He was just being more open so that these people are willing to come back to the church, without having to deal with the actual rules.”

Is Pope Francis Just Doing Savvy P.R. For the Oppressive, Dysfunctional Church? | Alternet