R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

From time to time, I blog on other sites. Since Ratzinger became pope, it’s been a fairly regular topic of conversation. For days on end, we put up with the saintly descriptions and mourning of John Paul II. Then for days on end, we’ve contemplated the meaning of this new pope. It seems our new pope, calling himself Benedict XVI, has a little past with the Nazis. Some say we should forget this because he was young and couldn’t exactly avoid serving under the Nazis as a kid. However, does that mean he let go of those Nazi principles or that it had a long-term effect on him? Some people on the blogs felt like discussing his past and its potential effect on his future was somehow an attack on them as Catholics.

Let’s be clear about one thing. I know a lot of good religious people of all faiths, but some of their leaders sure do suck! I don’t give a rat’s ass about respecting a religious leader like the pope or Falwell or Robertson. I haven’t gotten any respect from them so I don’t intend to give any respect back.

Supposedly, we should wait to see what Benedict would do before we past judgment. Well, he’s already lost his chances with me. He’s come down, only a week after being pope, on the Spanish government for passing the first hurdle in approving gay marriages. Long before he became pope, he was the mastermind behind the “homosexuality is an intrinsic evil” concept emanating from the Catholic Church. No, it’s not required I give time or respect to the pope.