# 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:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/41 "2013-12-05T16:23:35Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > Within 3 months he will do this. And there will be some kind of outrage about who he did and did not let in. Please all and please none. šŸ˜ƒ Which part of this is a joke? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/42 "2013-12-05T16:26:50Z")
The wry recognition that no good deed goes unpunished. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/43 "2013-12-05T16:38:03Z")
I am an atheist, formerly Catholic. If it were for me there would be no churches, no organized religions, but the expectations some of you have of the pope seem highly unrealistic. As somebody that has visited the Vatican (already as an atheist) I would not like those treasures in private hands when weā€™ll never see them again. They are already a huge source of income to the church. Iā€™d rather they keep their golden shoes in those glass boxes and actually accept gays fully to the church and let go of the birth control bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/44 "2013-12-05T16:42:05Z")
> [@bup](#): > > The wry recognition that no good deed goes unpunished. I assume that was supposed to be the joke, but ā€œthe Pope is about to let tons of homeless people live in St. Peterā€™sā€ is WAY more of a joke. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/45 "2013-12-05T16:44:09Z")
Except for not being funny. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/46 "2013-12-05T16:49:37Z")
Itā€™s not ha-ha funny, but itā€™s ludicrous. ---
**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 5, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/47 "2013-12-05T17:09:03Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#): > > Iā€™m not Catholic but heā€™s definitely a lot better than the last dude. Granted wholeheartedly, but then again the last dude was Inquisitor Palpatine so thatā€™s a rather low bar šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/48 "2013-12-06T02:07:36Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > By the way, the notion that this Pope could get whacked is downright loopy. Heā€™s not hurting anyoneā€™s business or stopping anyone from discriminating against anyone. And from a public relations standpoint heā€™s the best thing to happen to the church in a long time, especially regarding Europe and the U.S. There was at least one assassination attempt on John Paul II. He DID give away that one bishopā€™s private mansion and had it turned into a homeless shelter. I donā€™t know if he has the sole authority to sell the MASSIVE PALACE ā€“ I think it belongs to the church, and not the Pope himself. I could be wrong, though. ---
**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 6, 2013, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/49 "2013-12-06T11:00:41Z")
Pleased as I am to see MASSIVE PALACE take on a life of itā€™s own (and for total accuracy you should hear it in your head as if spoken by Alan Partridge) I donā€™t want anyone to think that Iā€™m completely dismissive of anything this pope tries to do. Whether I like it or not the Catholic church has enormous reach and influence. It has the ability to use that influence to make peopleā€™s lives far better merely through small changes in ideology and behaviour. It has changed in the past, it can change in the future and such changes do start with the examples of the man at the top. He has taken small steps (to my secular eyes) and that is to be applauded and encouraged. I hope that these small changes are softening the old guard for something far more revolutionary and that will be a very good thing indeed. I just donā€™t think that we should go overboard just yet, to cheer too soon may make the church think that their change journey is complete. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/50 "2013-12-06T11:27:13Z")
Christian, non-Catholic checking in. Iā€™m pretty sure the Catholic Church knew going in exactly what kind of man Pope Francis is, and the fact that they elected him anyway says to me that theyā€™re serious about changing the way they do things. And that can only be a net positive for the world in general, and Christianity in specific. ---
**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 6, 2013, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/51 "2013-12-06T13:14:30Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Which part of this is a joke? Well, none of it really. Taking in a few homeless, if only to set an example, is not too far-fetched for this guy. And people getting wacky about scrutinizing who he took in and who he didnā€™t is also not an unreasonable assumption. Lighten up a bit **Marls**. Nobodyā€™s elevating him to Tebow status (yet), just remarking how he seems to be, if only superficially, more Christ-like than his predecessors. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/52 "2013-12-06T14:14:02Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > Nobodyā€™s elevating him to Tebow status (yet), just remarking how he seems to be, if only superficially, more Christ-like than his predecessors. Thatā€™s kind of the point, though: a nice superficial gesture is indeed nice but ultimately superficial. And yes, people are making a pretty big deal out of those things. Heā€™s said some good things, but the RCC was very much aware that it needed a new image and Iā€™m not eager to give them too much credit for a marketing campaign before the real changes happen. ---
**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 6, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/53 "2013-12-06T14:26:31Z")
Iā€™m sure there was a Canterbury tale (maybe it was The Decameron?) where a church employee puts on the image of purity and good deeds when heā€™s official and in the public eye, but in his private life he is thoroughly corrupt. When someone calls him out on his hypocrisy he comes back with something like, ā€œDo my own personal failings make my official words & deeds any less righteous?ā€ Point being, unless we want to call Popeā€™s good stuff a feint while the church refreshes its plot for world domination (and Iā€™ll grant that), his acts serve as examples and ought to be duplicated by those who claim to follow him. At that point we end up with something better than superficial. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/54 "2013-12-06T14:41:46Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > Point being, unless we want to call Popeā€™s good stuff a feint while the church refreshes its plot for world domination (and Iā€™ll grant that), his acts serve as examples and ought to be duplicated by those who claim to follow him. At that point we end up with something better than superficial. Ok. So in theory Iā€™d say we should recognize a charm offensive when we see one and table the Nobel Prize/martyr talk until the church as a whole starts living up to this example. Until then, yes, to a degree heā€™s putting a smiley face on an institution with some very backward views. By all accounts heā€™s a very nice guy, but eight months is not enough time to determine if this is a seismic change or a cosmetic one. ---
**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 6, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/55 "2013-12-06T14:56:01Z")
Fair enough. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/56 "2013-12-06T15:01:36Z")
Sneaky bastard! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/57 "2013-12-06T15:36:50Z")
nm. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pope-francis-sneaks-out-of-vatican-at-night-in-disguise-to-meet-with-homeless-romans/675401/58 "2013-12-06T15:53:24Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Seriously though, just remember that what he is doing is slipping out of his MASSIVE PALACE . . . He has one, but he refuses to live there. [Previous 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)