Alright now. I was patient when, in answer to the simple yes/no question over whether he would condemn gay priests, Pope Francis evaded taking a stance by asking a question of his own: "Who am I to judge?" I was patient enough when His Holiness received praise and congratulations for saying that people with the "condition" of homosexuality deserve an apology from their fellow Christians for the long-standing prejudice shown against them in the name of religion.
And today I received my payback. Pope Francis, His Holiness the pontiff, has publicly lamented (or at least, lamented in a closed-door meeting made public by the Vatican) the fact that "Today, in schools they are teaching this to children — to children! — that everyone can choose their gender."
"We must think about what Pope Benedict said — 'It's the epoch of sin against God the Creator.'"
There's not a whole lot more to say. Blame it on his church, his religion, or his lack of empathy. Whatever caused his remarks, they're wrong, and I surely hope that this will give us the reality check we need: Pope Francis — no matter how much better he may be than his predecessors — is far from perfect. I think he's a little too far from perfect. And until he takes the leadership role his position calls for, and until he refrains from willful ignorance and derogatory rhetoric — rather, until he not only refrains from it but actively speaks out against it — his church will represent both ignorance and oppression to outsiders.
This does not represent all Catholic people, of course. But if this is what the highest authority of the Catholic Church teaches, then I can't see how that's good.