# Just When I Think I Like the Pope, He Pulls this Shit **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 6, 2022, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326 "2022-01-06T14:53:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/342 "2022-01-19T01:35:49Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > But the first question presumes that the two are considered alternatives to each other Because they _are_ alternatives. It is true that some people raise neither children nor pets. It is also true that some people raise both children and pets. That does not mean raising a pet is any less of an alternative to raising a child. - raising children - raising pets - raising children and pets - raising neither children nor pets Will have to address the rest at a later time. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/343 "2022-01-19T01:39:26Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > It is true that some people raise neither children nor pets. It is also true that some people raise both children and pets. That does not mean raising a pet is any less of an alternative to raising a child. It’s only an alternative if one choice depends on the other. I do not believe anyone is choosing not to have children _because_ they can choose to get pets. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/344 "2022-01-19T01:48:57Z")
You’d have to be fairly deranged to think so. Which is why Max\_S alone here has no difficulty thinking so. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/345 "2022-01-19T01:51:36Z")
I got the impression that the Pope thinks so. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/346 "2022-01-19T02:02:13Z")
Like I said, you’d have to be deranged. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/347 "2022-01-19T02:02:28Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I got the impression that the Pope thinks… Yup, and that’s why he’s been pitted. Because it’s really fucked up to think anyone decided not to have kids because they could get a dog instead. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/348 "2022-01-19T02:04:36Z")
I think Max had some kind of cognitive disorder. In thread after thread he goes on and on sometimes for hundreds of posts responding to dozens of people with absolute inanities that betray that he cannot actually understand ANY point of view that isn’t his own. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/349 "2022-01-19T13:25:12Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > Neither can I. The Pope criticized couples that don’t want children (or don’t want more than one child) yet have multiple pets. It seems to me that the Pope is saying the duty to raise children is not discharged by adopting pets, But he felt he had to say that. Miss Manners said she likes reading old etiquette to see what people used to do. Because etiquette books only tell you not to do stuff that people are actually doing. For example, she has an old etiquette book that instructs you not to blow your nose in your host’s tablecloth. Modern etiquette books don’t say that, because no one does that any more. That the pope felt it was worth saying “you can’t discharge your moral obligation to be a parent by caring for pets” means… The Pope has a really fucked up idea of what people are actually doing. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/350 "2022-01-19T21:00:19Z")
Maybe so. > [@Max\_S](#): > > Will have to address the rest at a later time. Hopefully, _much_ later. My understanding may be limited on this subject, but relative to kids, dogs hold up pretty well in the “ick” department. At least, most children seldom roll in or eat poop, and less commonly engage in recreational vomiting. Having had numerous dogs and working in pathology\* I’ve experienced enough ickiness to the point where kid contributions would hardly matter. \*it’s not called “gross pathology” for that reason, but it often fits. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/351 "2022-01-19T21:16:15Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > …and less commonly engage in recreational vomiting. Not until college, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/352 "2022-01-24T19:27:07Z")
I’m going to have to vote that however much you might get annoyed by the current Pope, there’s still always the previous one to compare to: > **[Ex-Pope Benedict admits to giving false statement in child abuse report](https://www.politico.eu/article/pope-benedict-admits-to-lying-in-child-abuse-report/)** > > The former pope claims it was the ‘result of an oversight in the editing of his statement.’ ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/353 "2022-01-24T19:30:58Z")
Yeah, when you are caught with your pants down with a dirty, rotten lie (a lie to cover up your guilt and responsibility for atrocious crimes), try the “my dog ate my homework” excuse… ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/354 "2022-01-24T19:33:01Z")
Life must be _dramatically_ easier when your entire audience has _permanently_ suspended their propensity for disbelief. [See also: DJtRump (and, yes, there’s significant intersection of the two sets in this Venn Diagram)] ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/355 "2022-01-24T19:49:36Z")
There’s more to the story, and I’m surprised it hasn’t made the international news already. The lawyers’ report about sexual abuse in the diocese of Munich was released last Thursday and sent shock waves through German society and the local Catholic Church: a pope being shown personally responsible for the cover up of sexual abuse and reinstating guilty priests in other parishes, AND being caught openly lying about it, is something many people couldn’t imagine. But it’s of course a very big story. I was not surprised, I have been hating Ratze for 40 years. Here’s a report in English from Deutsche Welle: > **[Pope Benedict's defense is outrageous and tragic – DW – 01/21/2022](https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-pope-benedicts-defense-is-outrageous-and-tragic/a-60520165)** > > A report about how the archdiocese of Munich handled cases of sexual abuse by priests makes for devastating reading and tarnishes the image of the retired Pope Benedict XVI, says DW’s Christoph Strack. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/356 "2022-01-24T19:57:52Z")
It was always strange that Ratzinger decided to retire from the Popehood. I wonder if some of this had already come to light among those near the top, at the time, and it was made apparent that he needed to get out before he brought the whole deal down. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/357 "2022-01-24T20:05:38Z")
At the time, I honestly thought that he was old, sick and tired and needed a rest from his post. I thought he was short of dying. But that was nine years ago, and in these years he wasn’t too sick to not heckle his successor and other people from the sidelines. I’m so glad that his pants are now down on his ankles for all the world to see. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/358 "2022-01-25T08:09:06Z")
Yes, good riddance, Benedict. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/359 "2022-01-25T12:17:29Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I’m so glad that his pants are now down on his ankles for all the world to see. A common enough state of undress for the catholic clergy ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2022, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/360 "2022-01-26T16:01:19Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > It’s only an alternative if one choice depends on the other. That’s simply not true. Go to an ice cream parlor, and you will have a choice of flavors. You might choose vanilla, or alternatively, chocolate. Or you can choose both vanilla _and_ chocolate. Or you can choose the fresh fruit on the counter. Or you can decide against buying anything. It still makes sense to speak of vanilla and chocolate as “alternatives”. If they were mutually exclusive choices we would _say_ they are mutually exclusive (or we would say you can only choose one flavor). ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2022, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/361 "2022-01-26T17:46:37Z")
My taste includes both snails _and_ oysters. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326.md?page=19)