this post was submitted on 21 Apr 2025
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While a leader might be kind and caring in speech, he'd also have to be subject to the rules and enforce them at some level (note that popes are "above the law" to some extent, but this is a different discussion).
Think for example of a forum like this that we are using: "rulebreakers" are banned. Imagine someone posting illegal content for example, they might be banned (and arrested) in society.
Now imagine unbelievers being in danger of being sent to prison forever (hell). Wouldn't the "kind" thing be to follow the rules yourself and set a good example for others, as well as to explain the rules clearly? Wouldn't someone who teaches people the wrong rules, that ends up getting such people in trouble, be thought to be a "bad" leader?
I think that's how Francis is viewed, he says words that are thought to be "kind", but which are ultimately harmful to people. Imagine if you were going to drive a car that was not safe to drive, and someone "kindly" instructs you that you're fine to drive it, to go ahead, and then you crash and are injured. This was not "kindness" then; instead, the person could have "kindly" warned such a person not to drive such a dangerous car.
Francis seemed to consistently speak and do bizarre things against a traditional Catholic way of life; we could discuss the matter further if it doesn't seem clearer upon further investigation.