Snopes, Popes, and Presidents

"Believing is Seeing"

We can learn more from some recent reports of Pope Francis' activities than what appear to be this Pope's quite sincere concerns and commitments to improving the lot of the poor, and those adversely affected by the consequences of war.

A Pope, any Pope, is in many ways one of our few world leaders who is given -- or can simply seize -- an ability to speak his or her mind, not only, in Pope Francis' case, to his 1.2 billion followers, but to more billions beyond.

When he chooses to use that opportunity to address problems of poverty, inequality and greed, war and peace, appealing to our better angels, he can provide a moral and ethical beacon for all of humankind.

And because he communicates primarily, or at least as much, by his actions as by his words, he truly has our attention. (I will leave for another day Church positions he has neither addressed nor given any indication of a likelihood to change.) So, yeah, I'm a fan.

So what more can we learn from these stories beyond what they tell us regarding the character and style of this Pope?

For "the rest of the story," see, "Snopes, Popes, and Presidents; Believing is Seeing,"
http://fromdc2iowa.blogspot.com/2013/12/snopes-popes-and-presidents.html