# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/21 "2022-01-06T16:53:00Z")
> [@bump](#): > > For example, is there not an ethical issue with spending the $$$ to feed your pets organic frou-frou food that is quite expensive, when there are actual, real live _human children_ who don’t eat half as much or half as well within your own community? We feed our dogs “high end” food because we want them to be as healthy as possible and looking at them we can visualize the results of excellent nutrition. It’s a damn shame there are _unwanted_ children not getting excellent care. You’d think the pope guy would be supporting abortion as an option to help! ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/22 "2022-01-06T16:54:33Z")
> [@bump](#): > > For example, is there not an ethical issue with spending the $$$ to feed your pets organic frou-frou food that is quite expensive, when there are actual, real live _human children_ who don’t eat half as much or half as well within your own community? I mean, [this place](https://www.hollywoodfeed.com/) is a thing, and yet people can buy nutritionally adequate pet food for a LOT less money elsewhere. That seems damn near criminal to me, but I’m sure people will come out of the woodwork to defend it, because pets or something. Really? People spend their money are all sorts of expensive nonsense - cars, boats, guns, designer clothes, expensive holidays, collecting old stamps - and you think spending en extra few quid on pet food is the problem? You know, caring about the health and well-being of pets is pretty low down the list of unethical things in my universe. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/23 "2022-01-06T16:54:44Z")
Excellent point. Also, isn’t organized religion about helping the downtrodden? Why isn’t he out feeding those starving children and leave us atheist dog lovers alone? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/24 "2022-01-06T16:56:56Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > If one of our dogs fell through the ice, I’d risk my own life to save her. If a human stranger fell through the ice simultaneously, I’d save my dog first, then attempt to save the human. > > And yeah, fuck the pope, As someone with neither kids nor pets, prioritizing your dog over a person seems all kinds of fucked up to me. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/25 "2022-01-06T17:00:23Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Really? People spend their money are all sorts of expensive nonsense - cars, boats, guns, designer clothes, expensive holidays, collecting old stamps - and you think spending en extra few quid on pet food is the problem? I never said those things were ideal either. In fact, I’m not sure where that line should be drawn; I think it’s pretty commonly agreed that nobody is expected to live like a hermit until everyone is provided for, but nor should people be buying extravagant nonsense either when they could do a lot of good with it either. I struggle with that personally. And I think a lot of it with pets goes to how much you value pets, and whether or not that’s reasonable. I mean, I’ve heard crazy stories of people going into serious debt paying for veterinary care for a old cat. If that’s not misplaced priorities, I don’t know what is. And someone will probably tell me some story about how their pets are their family or something, which is exactly the point the Pope is trying to make. Of course it’s their privilege to do that if they so choose, but I don’t have to think it’s right or normal. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/26 "2022-01-06T17:04:23Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > As someone with neither kids nor pets, prioritizing your dog over a person seems all kinds of fucked up What if the person was Hitler? 😲 Hey, it’s my life I’m putting at risk here. I wouldn’t think twice to do that for one of our dogs or for family/friends. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/27 "2022-01-06T17:06:01Z")
It’s odd that paying for expensive pet food is “damn near criminal” but a half million dollar second home you occasionally use is just not ideal. 🙄 ---
**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 6, 2022, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/28 "2022-01-06T17:07:17Z")
ISTM that the concept of _my_ vs. _your_ is probably more controlling in this situation than _pet_ vs. _child._ F’rinstance: if I saw a stranger’s _child and dog_ simultaneously fall through the ice and I was sure that I could rescue one (and only one), I’d rescue the child. But _my_ dog vs. _your_ child ? I can’t say I’m sure what I’d do. People aren’t automatically saying that _their pet_ is inherently as important as somebody else’s child in order to maintain that they feel a very strong bond _with_ their pet – maybe the closest thing that _they_ feel _to_ the bond a parent feels to a child. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/29 "2022-01-06T17:08:55Z")
Heck, you don’t have to go all the way to Hitler. I wouldn’t risk my life to save Putin if he fell through the ice, even without a dog to save beside him. But random stranger over a pet seems like a no-brainer, and choosing the pet over the stranger does seem selfish to me. Fortunately we rarely find ourselves in these sorts of situations! ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/30 "2022-01-06T17:09:25Z")
Making announcements like this is how this guy makes a living? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/31 "2022-01-06T17:13:53Z")
I wanted to raise children, but Child Protection Services objected to my keeping them on leashes and feeding them from bowls on the floor. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/32 "2022-01-06T17:16:31Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I wanted to raise children, but Child Protection Services objected to my keeping them on leashes and feeding them from bowls on the floor. - They also object if you chain them up in the back yard. On the other hand, children can be trained to pick up their own poop. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/33 "2022-01-06T17:18:14Z")
Well, I had two kids but could have supported more. Was it immoral that I didn’t adopt any kids when I could have? Especially since I later got a dog? ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/34 "2022-01-06T17:20:08Z")
Yep. Go throw 10 successful Hail Marys as penance. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/35 "2022-01-06T17:24:51Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > People buy second vacation homes and there are plenty of homeless that could use that second home. Is that damn near criminal? Not so much the homeless but the local people who get priced out of their villages. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/36 "2022-01-06T17:25:10Z")
A half-million dollar second house falls under “extravagant nonsense” in the post you replied to. It’s a hard thing to figure out- probably a good subject for another super-long thread. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/37 "2022-01-06T17:32:01Z")
Didn’t the Catholics have someone else named Francis who really liked animals? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/38 "2022-01-06T17:38:56Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > On the other hand, children can be trained to pick up their own poop. I doubt this, from first hand experience. My children won’t even pick up their own clothes. Their own **clean** clothes which they yanked out of their dressers or closets in their picky search for today’s outfit. The “not this, not this, not this” clothes. Even looking at poop would be way beyond the pale. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/39 "2022-01-06T17:42:26Z")
My “fur baby” doesn’t put his chew toys back in the basket either! Just like children! 😜 ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2022, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326/40 "2022-01-06T17:44:20Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Really? People spend their money are all sorts of expensive nonsense - cars, boats, guns, designer clothes, expensive holidays, collecting old stamps How about [art](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_Museums)? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-think-i-like-the-pope-he-pulls-this-shit/957326.md?page=3)