March 14, 2013

Pope Francis: A Disappointment for Catholics Who Don't Like Being Catholic

By Drew Belsky
How can we tell that the conclave made a good decision in elevating Jorge Mario Bergoglio to the papacy?  Exhibit A (through at least D): liberals are annoyed.  But leftists' problems with Pope Francis, well-emblazoned as they were within hours of the announcement, reveal some crucial truths about the Church that even many Catholics are loath to confront. When it came to Benedict XVI, the willfully uninformed chattering class had a field day -- rather, a field eight years -- with the thoroughly discredited "Nazi pope" meme.  (We might call noted luminary and theologian Susan Sarandon the "Nazi ambassadrix" in this effort.)  In the same vein, media outlets in all corners are itching to label the new Holy Father, and despisers of the office may find purchase in Francis's hard-line -- or, to put it more accurately, quite Catholic -- stance on "gay rights" and homosexual acts. The caviling has already started.  Indeed, as Saint Peter's Square erupted with...(Read Full Article)