W
e know he’s the first pope from Latin America, the first Jesuit pope and the first pope (probably) with only one lung. But where does newly elected Pope Francis stand on the issues feminists care about? The Catholic Church is not just a religious entity but also a political one, and often uses its social and economic power to push an anti-gay, anti-abortion and anti-women agenda.
For example, last election cycle the Catholic Church donated almost $2 million to anti-LGBT efforts. In December, former Pope Benedict XVI demanded that Catholic charities cease activity that “offends Catholic teaching”–such as advocating the use of condoms for safe sex and the practice of other forms of birth control.
So how does the new Pope Francis stack up?
He’s Anti-Marriage Equality
Despite visiting a hospice to wash the feet of AIDS patients, Pope Francis has asserted that gay marriage is “of the devil.” In a letter to the monasteries of Buenos Aires, he wrote, “Let’s not be naive, we’re not talking about a simple political battle; it is a destructive pretension against the plan of God.” In 2010, he was a strong advocate against an Argentinian bill that would legalize same-sex marriage and gay adoption (which he believes to be a form of discrimination against children).
He’s No Friend To Women
The new pope may have been deemed a “breath of fresh air” by certain women’s religious groups, but his record on women’s issues is pretty abysmal. As a conservative, it’s no surprise that he is both anti-abortion (describing the pro-choice movement as a “culture of death“) and anti-contraception (he opposed Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s efforts to distribute free contraceptives). Bridget Mary Meehan of the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests (ARCWP) hopes that Pope Francis will take care of “the elephant in the church’s living room” and “recognize women and men as equal partners in the Gospel” by allowing women to occupy top jobs in the Curia (the central governing body of the Catholic Church). But despite protests, the Vatican does not recognize the priesthood of the women of ARCWP or the validity of the women’s priesthood movement.
His Human Rights Record May Be Iffy
Pope Francis was a priest in Argentina during the “Dirty War,” a time of military unrest and guerrilla warfare in the ’70s and ’80s. As many as 30,000 people died or disappeared, and Pope Francis has been accused of not doing enough to help, as well as failing to protect two Jesuit priests who were challenging Argentina’s regime. Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi defended Pope Francis, saying “nothing concrete or credible” had ever been brought against him and that the accusations were promoted by a “publication which specializes in campaigns which are sometimes slanderous and defamatory.”
Pope Francis is now the most powerful man in the Catholic Church, in charge of leading the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics. He may be a “man of the people” who took the bus to work every day and refused to stand taller than the cardinals around him during his first address, but he has yet to enact any real policies. Let’s hope his track record so far isn’t indicative of his new reign.
Image via Flickr user Catholicism under Creative Commons 2.0
The fact that he was an Argentinian cardinal piqued my interest, but when I saw his name, realized he’s still an Italian/European elected by the hierarchy of the Church. Same old, same old.
Well, we are still in the 16th century somewhere with the new pope. Women are chattel and have no equal rights in the church of the pope. Being anti-gay and and anti-woman puts this pope in the hazardous to all who strive for equal rights position. Just ducky.
The way I see it, the “new” pope is pretty much the same as the old one. Only the name is different, plus a few small lifestyle changes, which are hardly impressive. The Catholic Church obviously doesn’t want real change, which is why they elected this guy.
I agree with Nancee. He is an Italian since Argentina is more European than most south American counties. Nothing new form this religion and most Christian religions, and unfortunately closed minded and patriarchal. After reading the book of Mathew in the bible, I don’t recall reading anything about gays or women inequalities. All I wrote is to love, forgive, and respect. Now if this was said by Jesus the son of God, why the hell people believe more what other man wrote in the bible? So I started form the beginning of all Genesis I have never hear of so many absurd stories and so unfair for women in general. The Pope is nothing but the president of a catholic nation just like any president but this one has the whole world allied. People are so hungry for a change and religion uses this to plant fear of misconduct, to be left our from God, and the false hope for a new world full of eternal happiness.
He’s not a friend to women by definition, catholic church sees a woman as a support system for a man and a child bearing entity, nothing more (nothing less); there’s no change to be expected in this area probably not ever
does anyone else thinks it’s incredibly wrong that the one post starts out with: “Despite visiting a hospice to wash the feet of AIDS patients, Pope Francis has asserted that gay marriage is “of the devil.”
So HIV/AIDS is a gay issue? Isn’t that very small minded? I don’t see how a disease that afflicts all genders and orientations has anything to do with gay marriage.
Why don’t wymin simply quit the Catholic Church and form their own worldwide religious organization?