The Vatican isn’t a political organization. It is a sovereign state. The pope is the equivalent of its king, elected by representatives called cardinals.
Election of the pope (and cardinals) is, in itself, a political process, and they tax the dickens out of their adherants, but our nation can’t tax another sovereign state or its tentacles. We don’t tax mosques, even though they bow to Mecca.
What we’re watching this week is akin to the Queen of England making an extended visit, except that rather than being a political ally, her nation were a religious one. And she preaches to us.
It’s amazing to listen to Francis pontificate (pun intended) on science, given the Catholic Church’s stellar record on that subject (sarcasm intended).
Nice man. He needs to stick to theology.
If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s ignorance about the history of science and the Catholic Church. All anyone knows about is Galileo not the hundreds of priests and Catholics who worked hand and glove with the Church over the centuries to expand our knowledge of the universe. Throw in the Catholic achievements in art and you have one of the most dynamic examples of western civilization.
Just because this Pope is a scientific boob does not negate all the achievements of the past.