Israeli officials fear the pope’s vocal criticisms and symbolic gestures - such as this year’s nativity scene in St Peter’s Square featuring baby Jesus resting on a Palestinian keffiyeh - may influence global public opinion.
Created by Bethlehem artists Johny Andonia and Faten Nastas Mitwasi, the nativity scene prominently features Palestinian materials, including olive wood, a symbol of Palestinian resilience.
During its unveiling, Pope Francis condemned the global arms industry for profiting from human suffering and reiterated his call for an end to all wars, urging the faithful to remember those suffering in the holy land.
The display, praised by many as a message of solidarity and peace, drew backlash from Israel’s supporters, who accused the Vatican of promoting a pro-Palestinian agenda.
Its a strange world isnt it. In the last election I was shouted down on here by trans supporters who said you cant expect perfection from everyone, because Harris supported trans rights, but also was a supporter of Israeli genocide as well, which I thought was a bigger issue for humanity to address immediately with the limited time to apply pressure that was available.
So I’ll just parrot that right back now along with the idea that “you dont tease the fat guy at the gym”. Following the metaphor, the pope is currently on the treadmill shedding some pounds, so I’m going to hold my derisive comments about that particular rapist cult for the moment. And he’s a whole lot better than all the other popes of my lifetime. But next time he opens his mouth about trans rights, sure, kick his arse.
Perfect example of not letting perfect be the enemy of good.
A perfect example of centrism allowing evil to flourish because it’s lesser.
The alternative to a shit pope isn’t a slightly less shit pope, it’s having no pope at all.
But rather than argue for that, people argue to defend the papacy. It’s truly mind boggling.
It’s not like you can just get rid of popes right away, so you can as well get used to commenting their evilness level. It’s not the same as defending them, just evaluation of the current situation in historical context. There WERE worse times.