Respect for the Pope, Thread II (from Cronus' thread) [View All]

Original:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=563011&mesg_id=563011

That thread was getting long, 100+ posts. Cronus, if you object to my starting this, please let me know and I will delete the whole thing.

I'd like to throw my 2 cents in here, re: a comment I made in the original thread. Why respect the pope?

"Because it is courteous. Not to the Pope, but to a lot of Catholics who post here. I, myself, am one. Speaking personally, I would not try to stop anyone from making a critique of Catholic policies; I am a rotten Catholic, myself, who supports birth control and the right to choose and women priests, etc. But I have also been taught and motivated and helped by Catholic priests and nuns my whole life. A number are personal friends. It is not the critiques that make me nuts, it is the spitting hatred and vitriol. Please don't tell me you haven't seen it. Your feelings about the Pope are your own business, and I respect that. Please respect the feelings of people who are Catholics. Don't respect the Pope if you don't want to. But please respect me, and my fellow DU Catholics. It would be appreciated."

The disrespect I am talking about has been all over the place, in comments like these:

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the pope is an asshole

He is more than an asshole, an antifeminist dickhead. He should never win the nobel peace prize, and good he hasn't.... as his population growth will create more wars, starvation and strife than any single leadership policy... what an ignorant fool.

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THE POPE IS JUST DEMENTED. NOT CRAZY

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Not Crazy - Just Evil

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The Pope is a Molester protector. F*CK HIM !

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=548110

That's a sample from one thread on this topic.

No one is saying the Church and the Pope are above criticism. Anyone who does is goofy. But "asshole," "dickhead," "ignorant fool," "evil," "Molester protector," etc. are not respectful words among people of good conscience.

This cuts both ways, of course.