And is that good or bad.

@Fernapple I'm sure you know that I'm not religious, but I have many friends and associates who are, sadly, 'under the influence".

And I bet you do, as well.

He's being fought very hard by the dying conservative base in the church.

He's trying to gently goad the Catholic Christian in to the reality of Evolution, for example. He's working hard to reduce the wealth holdings, while also working hard to embellish the poor. He's a good man stuck in a tough role.

@Winkiedink54 Do you know Catholics? I do. And I befriend them. OK...they're delusional..but Francis is a far cry from the conservative and narrow minded popes of the past. He's under constant attack from the conservative members to resist liberal commentary. He's a good man leading a tough group of conservatives...let's give him credit;

For example; did you know he's fighting against land exploitation in the Amazon?

This week, an official of Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Relations actually had to go on national television, flanked by a Catholic cardinal, to assure his countrymen that the government of President Jair Bolsonaro isn’t threatened by the looming Synod on the Amazon and doesn’t think the meeting violates a treaty between the Vatican and Brazil governing the Church’s status in the country.

It's complicated. He's working hard to bring the catholics of the world - "kicking and screaming"...in to the 21st century.

[cruxnow.com]

@Robecology Yes but that could just lead to the making of a few token gestures by the church, which would do much to stifle its critics but little to correct its real evils.

@Fernapple Read the links I provided. Share them with your Catholic friends. He treads lightly...he's on the verge of being ousted. There's a real battle going on in the church right now....please read up on it. He's a good man with a tough, tough job.

@Winkiedink54 Pope Francis calls Eugenio Scallifari, 93, (an atheist and editor of a Roman Newspaper) a friend. He even got in hot water with the "elders" of the church for allowing an "interview' with his journalist friend. Then they had to assert that the Pope "didn't deny Hell existed" and scolded Francis for alluding to the possibility.

Again; the closer you follow what's going on...the more you see that Francis is, indeed, a wise, intelligent agnostic in the guise of the leader of the Catholic Church.

[theguardian.com]

@Fernapple The church will survive because of the general ignorance and myth-based logic of the typical human....but they depend on wealth....a cash flow.

And they're investing in some wise, and some not so wise, cash makers.

That cash flow is drying up fast. To get that flow going, they have to invest in the fossil fuels consortium (that includes shipping, mining, and automobile making).

For example; did you know that in October 2014, the Sistine Chapel was rented out for the first time to the automaker Porsche?

And they have to sell off some of the prime real estate that they've acquired over the ages. There's a lot of politics and business involved in keeping the "church" afloat.

[money.cnn.com]

@Robecology Yes but it is in the nature of life, that good people working hard with the best of intentions are often the ones who do the greatest harm. The man and his effects on history are two different things.