this post was submitted on 05 Oct 2026
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I was raised Catholic, but am an atheist now. Yet I gotta say I have a LOT of respect for this guy - for someone who's the leader of the most famous branch of Christianity (so far as I know), he seems very surprisingly down-to-earth. I hope he's able to move the rest of the flock in that direction as well.
I grew up in NJ as a non-Catholic. Even I respect Pope Leo and Francis.
Granted, I moved to the Midwest and realized for all the quirks Catholics have, they're not as a monolith god awful people like Evangicals are.
Careful there are plenty of fucked up Catholic sects too, like the ones JD Vance and Amy Coney Barrett are in.
I hear what you're saying and I don't fully agree nor do I fully disagree...
Catholicism at it's core is pretty evil. See their rampant sex crimes through their leadership and their leadership's complacency.
But since Pope Francis, I believe they've made an attempt at growing their religion in an ethical(ish) way. That's to say, they've chosen leadership that is more liberal in an attempt to guide them into the modern world.
The structure of catholicism being pope down lead with regional leadership keeps parishes relatively in-line with one another.
I've witnessed first hand a lot of Catholics in rural, conservative towns being somewhat exiled due to their extreme MAGA beliefs. Particularly on LGBT issues. Catholicism in my opinion has held a line that separates them from Evangelists. In part because of the top down leadership - you're not finding priests living the high life like you are mom and pop Evangelist pastors. That's an organizational difference.
That doesn't mean you don't get evil shitbags like Just Dance Vance - but let's not pretend that Just Dance Vance is a Catholic beyond that he went through all the Catholic sacrements. He has a piece of paper he can point to to say that he's Christian. But he's more aligned with Evangelists.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/catholic-right-celebrity-conversion-industrial-complex
The reason you have a lot of respect for him, is because he's basically acting as atheist as you can while still being the pope for the church.
That's great for atheists like us, but it makes him a terrible pope.
I'm curious why you say it makes him a terrible Pope. A lot of Catholics thinks he is great too. Some don't. It's all subjective really isn't it?
The Cardinals elect the Pope they want to set the direction of the Church. So, by definition he's the best Pope.
a pope is an emergent phenomenon produced by a given set of cardinal coordinates
Direction and magnitude!?
Should've been Pope Vector I.
You think the fucking pope is "adhering to atheist values"? What an interesting place the inside of your head must be.
You wanna shut the fuck up and fuck the fuck off?
imagine being such an adult atheist that you have to switch to your ban evasion alt to get the last word in a thread where the pope was mentioned
This might be dumbest shit ive read all week
@Zensate You seem to believe in "atheist values", but they are not: speaking as an atheist raised in a non-Christian religion, what you're talking about are specifically *Christian* atheist values—they embed a bunch of Christian eschatalogical assumptions even as they reject the core thesis. So you have *far* more in common, belief-wise, with the Pope, than you do with an ex-Hindu or ex-Jewish or ex-Buddhist atheist.
Buddhists are, by definition, atheist
This is wrong in a couple different ways, lol
please enlighten us
nah it's better thematically/narratively if you explore it yourself
atheists and christians are like electrons and positrons. whenever they collide (such as in a football game) they instantly destroy one another
I know s he’s made statements about correcting the molestation problems in the church, but until they are all purged, convicted, and the victims are fully compensated, and the celibacy and male only priesthood is rules are abolished, he’s still a catholic.
Is the Pope Catholic? If ever in doubt ask him about abortion and gay marriage.