Why is Pope Francis unpopular among Catholics?

[s_gunter]

true
nor do you see devout Christians killing people because they think the Bible tells them to every day
I mean yeah it sadly does happen that some disturbed individuals will pervert the teachings of Christianity and does that
but it does not happen every day

with Islam this is EVERY day
with Islam has also set up Sharia law all over the world that requires homosexuals and apostates be put to death
even places where it is not legal, it is a common practice

Granted, there is a terrorist (implies Islam motivated) attack some place in the world every day. Indeed, a lot of Muslims are violent. I'm not denying that at all. You cannot look up a list of Christian "terrorist" attacks because it's not classified that way. You'd have to use different terminology to find that. That word is reserved for those of Islamic/Middle Eastern descent. We call Christians who commit crimes due to their beliefs "mentally ill" or "disturbed" individuals (lone wolf), completely leaving his religion and politics completely out of it.

 

[s_gunter]

Also, are you claiming there's a homegrown Islamic terrorist attack every single day (meaning, just in the USA), or are you referring world-wide? My comment changes depending on that answer...

 

[Sweet Tooth]

Granted, there is a terrorist (implies Islam motivated) attack some place in the world every day. Indeed, a lot of Muslims are violent. I'm not denying that at all. You cannot look up a list of Christian "terrorist" attacks because it's not classified that way. You'd have to use different terminology to find that. That word is reserved for those of Islamic/Middle Eastern descent. We call Christians who commit crimes due to their beliefs "mentally ill" or "disturbed" individuals (lone wolf), completely leaving his religion and politics completely out of it.

This reads like a HuffPo article. I'm not being hyperbolic.

 

[s_gunter]

here is an example

several times the Pope has warned us about "Fundamentalism" being a negative thing in all religions, and warns about this in the context of our own faith

60% of Catholics in the USA support gay marriage, only 24% of Catholics attend mass weekly in the USA and it is far worse in Europe
culturally, Catholics are pretty much indistinguishable from the general population when it comes to divorce, remarriage and cohabitation

Europe, the USA, and Canada are suffering horribly from religious indifference among Catholics and Latin America is not doing much better
we have been in crisis mode for at least 40 years and the Holy Father chooses to focus his concerns on "Fundamentalism" within the Church.....

also using that term in regards to Catholicism is vague enough, at first it was used for a branch of Evangelical Protestants who decided to stop arguing about periphery issues and focus on the "fundamentals" of the faith as they understood them.
So another example of vagueness.

The Pope has also shown a favoritism for Leftists
so that is also jarring

Sincere question: Why is it jarring? It was known Pope Francis is a Jesuit. Also, Catholicism does tend to favor liberalism, as the USA even defines it, especially concerning the poor, and in regards to being good stewards of God's creation.

 

[s_gunter]

This reads like a HuffPo article. I'm not being hyperbolic.

You're right! But I didn't mean for it to sound like that. Honestly, I've never seen that article...

 

[Rhamiel]

Sincere question: Why is it jarring? It was known Pope Francis is a Jesuit. Also, Catholicism does tend to favor liberalism, as the USA even defines it, especially concerning the poor, and in regards to being good stewards of God's creation.

I do not have a problem with Jesuits or concern for the poor

in fact I think we need more focus on the poor

I think his terminology is vague and has confused many people
as a Jesuit I would expect his responses to be a tad more scholarly

 

[s_gunter]

I do not have a problem with Jesuits or concern for the poor

in fact I think we need more focus on the poor

I think his terminology is vague and has confused many people
as a Jesuit I would expect his responses to be a tad more scholarly

Didn't say you did.
We disagree on the vague terminology. I think, most of the time, he is right on. It's how we've adapted vocabulary (which is natural to do) that causes the confusion. IMO Pope Francis is very literal in his speech, using no "grey," so to speak.

 

[Rhamiel]

my city just had a gay pride parade on Saturday but no, it is really "Fundamentalism" that is the REAL problem.........

 

[thehehe]

Unpopular among Catholics? All the Catholics of my parish or my friends are fond of him, even the more traditionalists. In fact I never saw anyone complaining about him outside this forum. At the contrary, all the Catholics I know many feel more comfortable with their catholicism since he is pope, especially in the youth (the previous generation had JP II)

 

[RKO]

75% of everyday Catholics don't go to weekly Mass, don't regularly receive the sacraments, and divorce amongst everyday Catholic equal that of the general population..of course they like him....who am I to judge

What's your point? That you know better because you're closer to perfect than these Catholics you refer to?

 

[Meowzltov]

You cannot look up a list of Christian "terrorist" attacks because it's not classified that way.

Because there aren't Christians going around killing in the name of Jesus in order to create terror to effect political change, which is what the definition of terrorism is.

 

[benedictaoo]

I'm sharing a funny.

Not many have a sense of humor.

 

[benedictaoo]

What's your point? That you know better because you're closer to perfect than these Catholics you refer to?

That the pope is not doing a whole lot to encourage holiness. He is however putting emphasis on works.

 

[benedictaoo]

Sincere question: Why is it jarring? It was known Pope Francis is a Jesuit. Also, Catholicism does tend to favor liberalism, as the USA even defines it, especially concerning the poor, and in regards to being good stewards of God's creation.

Because it de emphasizes sin and a person being in a state of grace. It is as thou we are being discouraged in the area of living a holy life, as if purity and obeying God's commandments are on the back burner. This hyper focus on the 'poor' is jarring while seemingly blowing off serious sin and godliness in our communities. Its a total works based situation while waving a hand saying, 'sin' who am I to judge...if a person is a liberal, they won't see this as jarring. I know we have to care for the poor but even Jesus said they will always be with us. The pope can not eradicate the poor among us. We are to care for these social issues. This pope didn't invent social justice. There has to be balance and I see none with this pope. Good Catholic is more, much more than only and just feeding the poor and driving a hybrid. This pope, whether he knows it or not has given liberals a pass on the moral teachings and have allowed them to continue on their only and just helping the poor and I'm sorry, these USA liberals who think this democratic party is for the Pope's issues...yeah, Hillary's going to spend 40 million of Wall Stree/ Islam money on attacking Trump...yeah, the pope wants to go yell at Congress, yell at them about that. Any way, rants over.

 

[s_gunter]

I give the Pope more credit than that. He expects us to know what you said above. He doesn't insult our intelligence by constantly repeating it. He adds to it by highly suggesting we actually DO something.

Also, need I quote James 2:14-20 about works and faith?

 

[High Fidelity]

I'm not a Catholic but I think it's refreshing to see Pope Francis placing emphasis on charity, consolidation and reconciliation.

A lot of Christians are indifferent to those in poverty, unmerciful and unforgiving of those that need it just as much as we do, and unloving of their neighbour.

I can understand why people feel he's brushing particular issues they feel passionately about to the side, but I'm sure there are just as many people out there grateful for him addressing the issues they've felt have been sidelined by so many Christians for too long.

I think this election cycle has been a good example. People don't want to be told they can't mock, insult, belittle and be unloving and sinful towards others based on their political beliefs. They don't like being told they're viewing things through a subjective cultural and personal lens and not an objective Christian lens.

But I suppose that's part of being a Christian. Living in the world and not being of the world. It's not easy and I think it sometimes -- often times -- requires a gentle reminder.

My $0.02

 

[Rhamiel]

Unpopular among Catholics? All the Catholics of my parish or my friends are fond of him, even the more traditionalists. In fact I never saw anyone complaining about him outside this forum. At the contrary, all the Catholics I know many feel more comfortable with their catholicism since he is pope, especially in the youth (the previous generation had JP II)

interesting
they feel more comfortable with their Catholicism now? is it because Benedict XVI was high ranking in the Vatican under JP II and they feel he was partly responsible for the abuse crises?
I have said some critical things in this thread but I do love Pope Francis and I think he has done some great things
but I also think Benedict XVI and JPII did some great things

What's your point? That you know better because you're closer to perfect than these Catholics you refer to?

I know this was not directed at me, but if I may give my view on this?

most Catholics do not go to Mass regularly
most Catholics do not read the Bible regularly
so when you say "the majority of Catholics believe this" you are talking about a group of people who are biblically illiterate who are not active in their parish
I am not saying this as "oh I am so much better" this is simply a fact, they are ignorant about the Catholic Faith

I'm not a Catholic but I think it's refreshing to see Pope Francis placing emphasis on charity, consolidation and reconciliation.

don't be a stranger

 

[RKO]

I know this was not directed at me, but if I may give my view on this?

most Catholics do not go to Mass regularly
most Catholics do not read the Bible regularly
so when you say "the majority of Catholics believe this" you are talking about a group of people who are biblically illiterate who are not active in their parish
I am not saying this as "oh I am so much better" this is simply a fact, they are ignorant about the Catholic Faith



don't be a stranger

But it's still based on assumptions. church attendance is no guarantee of a superior understanding of the bible or church teaching.
suggesting that 75% of the church is unworthy of having a valid opinion on the pope is just voter suppression.
I could easily make a claim that converts with fewer than"X" years in the church don't have a valid field of experience with the papacy and therefore they shouldn't be counted.
But the truth of it is all sorts of people identify as Catholic. And their vote counts.

 

[topcare]

That the pope is not doing a whole lot to encourage holiness. He is however putting emphasis on works.

This I never thought about, give ammunition to those who say that some Catholics advocate a works based salvation

 

[LivingWordUnity]

This I never thought about, give ammunition to those who say that some Catholics advocate a works based salvation

There's also been ammunition given to those who accuse Catholics of worshiping the Pope.