Pope Francis to Jesus: “You shouldn’t have provoked them” ~ by Heathwood & Lee

This cartoon commentary by Heathwood and Lee illustrates so brilliantly my reaction to Pope Francis’ recent…advice…that one should expect a physical or violent reaction if criticizing another’s faith, so just don’t criticize. Would Pope Francis have said the same to Jesus Christ, whose life was devoted to exposing the hypocrisy of the Jewish leadership of his day. “You shouldn’t have provoked them!”

There’s a lot to like about Pope Francis, particularly how he’s focusing on the ideals of service to the poor over ostentatious displays. However, his statements that seem to say (if English translations can be accepted) that one should not criticize a person’s religious beliefs–that is just wrong. ALL ideas should be challenged; that’s the only way we grow. The exchange of criticism is needed for the “market of ideas” to work and evolve, and develop better ideas.

So the infallible Catholic Pope is wrong on this count, as he is wrong on his beliefs about contraception and homosexuality (to name a few). Still, I like the guy 🙂