# Pope Francis Sneaks Out of Vatican At Night, In Disguise, To Meet With Homeless Romans **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 3, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401 "2013-12-03T20:25:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/1 "2013-12-03T20:25:05Z")
[Story here.](http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/12/03/3011421/pope-francis-homeless/) I’m not a Catholic, but the more I hear about Francis, the more I like him. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/2 "2013-12-03T20:34:12Z")
Homeless Romans = Homans? ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2013, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/3 "2013-12-03T20:47:23Z")
I seriously love this guy. He’s encouraging a major shift in focus in the Catholic Church, and a highly appropriate one, IMHO. I love his emphasis on love and charity. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/4 "2013-12-03T20:51:49Z")
I was wondering what the Pope would disguise himself as? Priest seems a little obvious. Is there a false beard involved? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2013, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/5 "2013-12-03T21:04:16Z")
The cool part was he also had a homeless guy pretend to be him, and give mass and make pronouncements\* ex cathedra\*. It’s going to be summer 2015’s biggest comedy! ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2013, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/6 "2013-12-03T22:20:31Z")
There’s a thread in GD asking what would happen if the Pope won the Nobel Peace Prize. I think we have to stop asking “if,” His Holiness is making every other contender look like a chump. Almost makes me want to go back for Sunday services for the first time in almost 15 years. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/7 "2013-12-04T16:00:38Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > **Pope Francis Sneaks Out of Vatican At Night, In Disguise, To Meet With Homeless Romans** > [Story here.](http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/12/03/3011421/pope-francis-homeless/) > > I’m not a Catholic, but the more I hear about Francis, the more I like him. Did he bring both his girlfriends with him, like Rodrigo Borgia? > [@hotflungwok](#): > > Homeless Romans = Homans? Homani ite domum ? ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/8 "2013-12-04T16:04:33Z")
I do find it somewhat ironic that he’s sneaking out in the dead of night to avoid fanfare as he does his ministry, and yet here we have a news article about it.:dubious: That being said, that’s the way to lead by example. And, you know, be a good human being, which is unfortunately not very common. ---
**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:** [December 4, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/9 "2013-12-04T16:14:04Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > There’s a thread in GD asking what would happen if the Pope won the Nobel Peace Prize. I think we have to stop asking “if,” His Holiness is making every other contender look like a chump. > > Almost makes me want to go back for Sunday services for the first time in almost 15 years. I suppose it is the smallest of well-intentioned beginnings, lets see how far he will take this. Currently he’s using the classic ruse of being slightly less of a dick than his multiple predecessors. Seriously though, just remember that what he is doing is slipping out of his MASSIVE PALACE to commune with normal people before slipping back into his MASSIVE PALACE. I suspect that at some point in the summer he will take a break at his choice of MASSIVE PALACES, just as Jesus intended. All he is doing is a bit of what he claims his church compels him to do anyway, when he starts distributing the worldly goods of the church to the poor then we can talk. He, and by extension the Catholic Church, have a lot of making up to do before we in the Secular world start considering it a net humanitarian good. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/10 "2013-12-04T16:22:46Z")
I doubt very much that any actual “sneaking out” is going on here. But I do believe the Pope tries to mix with the population at large with as little fanfare as possible. Still, I’m pretty sure the Vatican Swiss Guard is never far from his side in these unofficial papal forays. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/11 "2013-12-04T17:08:44Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Homani ite domum ? Beat me to ! “accusative ! accusative !..” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2013, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/12 "2013-12-04T17:14:19Z")
Baby steps, but I like him. But he’ll be an active choice in next year’s Death Pool. Too many powerful people are getting gored. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/13 "2013-12-04T17:31:45Z")
The new attitude is nice, but let’s not go nuts. The RCC’s attitude on birth control needs to get fixed, and that has an awful lot to do with women who can’t get themselves out of poverty. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/14 "2013-12-04T18:48:44Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The new attitude is nice, but let’s not go nuts. The RCC’s attitude on birth control needs to get fixed, and that has an awful lot to do with women who can’t get themselves out of poverty. Just wait until this Pope knocks one of them up during one of his late night outings. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/15 "2013-12-04T19:06:09Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > MASSIVE PALACE I got no cite, but I was under the impression he had eschewed the MASSIVE PALACE living arrangement in favor of a mere Big House. Whatever, even if he’s only being less of a dick, that’s an improvement. Plus his reliance on God’s will as opposed to bulletproof glass is refreshingly down-to-earth. Still not enough to make me a believer though. Homani ite domum … nice. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/16 "2013-12-04T19:08:05Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > I do find it somewhat ironic that he’s sneaking out in the dead of night to avoid fanfare as he does his ministry, and yet here we have a news article about it.:dubious: That’s not irony. That’s a well-paid marketing staff. Not to hate too much on the guy for even if it’s a transparent PR stunt it’s one of the nice ones, and more meaningful than most photo ops out there. But come on, it’s still transparent and _very old_ theatre since Roman emperor Augustus reportedly did the same thing once in a while. And it was just as open a “secret”. There was also a bit on YouTube recently about the Prime Minister of… Norway, I want to say ? posing as a taxi driver for a day. With a live camera aboard, naturally. Then again, maybe His Holiness is a \*Sandman \*reader, which would make him a lot more likeable to me 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/17 "2013-12-04T20:01:29Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > I got no cite, but I was under the impression he had eschewed the MASSIVE PALACE living arrangement in favor of a mere Big House. Whatever, even if he’s only being less of a dick, that’s an improvement. Plus his reliance on God’s will as opposed to bulletproof glass is refreshingly down-to-earth. Still not enough to make me a believer though. He’s staying in the suite at the Vatican guest house (the Domus Sanctae Marthae) that was assigned to him when he first came to town as a Cardinal for the Papal convention that elected him. It’s a modern building, opened in 1996. It’s no Motel 6, of course, but it’s not an antique gilded palace. I have a difficult relationship with the Catholic church but I find myself frequently impressed with this new Pope. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2013, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/18 "2013-12-04T20:30:51Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > That’s not irony. That’s a well-paid marketing staff. It doesn’t seem to be. If you follow the story back a bit it looks like it originated from Archbishop Krajewski and media outlets ran with it. It also looks like he’s been doing this since long before he was Pope. If it’s a PR stunt, it’s the continuation of a very long-running one. I think the only part of this story that’s at all misleading is characterizing him as “sneaking out” of the Vatican like he’s John Candy in _King Ralph._ ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/19 "2013-12-04T20:36:07Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > I think the only part of this story that’s at all misleading is characterizing him as “sneaking out” of the Vatican like he’s John Candy in _King Ralph._ That’s John Goodman, _heretic_. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2013, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/20 "2013-12-04T21:06:07Z")
Man, who can remember the names of all the British monarchs anyhow? _Goddamnit._ Kevin Costner in _Dave_, maybe? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401.md?page=2)