Non-Catholics who like Pope Francis have a mean way of contrasting him with Benedict and the mean thing I do in response is just give them facts about the last 6-7 papacies so that they feel really stupid.
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I'm sure I'll never be able to pull it up now but I used to know how to find an article called, "Ten Quotes that PROVE Pope Francis is a Liberal" and at the end it disclosed the *minor detail* that oops these quotes are every one of them from Pope Benedict.
It depends on what they complain about. I don’t have a “here’s a fact what now.” Usually it involves reminding them just how long JP2 reigned and other times about a little thing called the Second World War.
Also, because of World Youth Day 1995, a lot of kids born at the time were named John, Paul, John Paul or variations thereof afterwards. (Not sure if Pope Francis' visit in 2015 caused a similar spike.)
I think most of it is driven by aesthetics: BXVI was more visibly willing to allow trad ceremonial, so they assume he must be some theological arch conservative (we actually have this problem with people’s assumptions about Anglo Catholics all the time)
(As far as I can tell, B was on the whole more theologically progressive than JPII, certainly more nuanced, but JPII was so much better with optics that people assumed he just must be so so open and progressive)
I don’t remember this at all
I think JPII was always made out to be a conservative especially among ultra progressives (some of whom embraced, others of whom rejected, Francis)
Even the media sometimes tampered their admiration w criticism, sometimes not very subtle, of his perceived dogmatism
There was a biography of him were some of the author’s anecdotes are told so as to give the sense that “oh he’s kind but still all too rigid”
One of my faves was an NPR article that said "The Catholic Church no longer grants indulgences." The writer said he wrote "sells" but an editor decided to replace it.
Also enjoyed an AP article on a "member of the Roman Catholic brotherhood" (weirdest possible way to say "an OFM friar")
nothing worse than being into a podcast/yt channel/writer who does like informational stuff on a variety of topics, and then they finally do one on a subject you know anything about and you're like 😵💫😬
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I think JPII was always made out to be a conservative especially among ultra progressives (some of whom embraced, others of whom rejected, Francis)
There was a biography of him were some of the author’s anecdotes are told so as to give the sense that “oh he’s kind but still all too rigid”
One of my faves was an NPR article that said "The Catholic Church no longer grants indulgences." The writer said he wrote "sells" but an editor decided to replace it.
Also enjoyed an AP article on a "member of the Roman Catholic brotherhood" (weirdest possible way to say "an OFM friar")