I LIKE THIS POPE

I watched with interest Pope Francis's recent visit to the United States. It was the first time in a long while, that I had a positive feeling about the Catholic Church.

I am not a Catholic or even a Christian, but I like this Pope. I was impressed by both what he said and what he did. To me he exemplified the teachings and what we know of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. His homilies were teaching, not preaching as most religious leaders are prone to do. He was forthright, blunt and forward looking. He seemed to have a clear understanding of the nuances of American politics and because he shared his concerns for those less fortunate, was labeled a "Liberal" by some less insightful observers. 

The Pope is a conservative Catholic and the changes he has promulgated in the Church were long over due. As an outsider my view of the Catholic Church has been of a huge very insulated bureaucracy that cares more about self preservation and orthodoxy than the people it is supposed to serve. He is prodding the Church to become more relevant in the modern world and that will be a good thing. I wish him well.

I have always had a very strong interest in religion, so I was impressed with the Pope's activities here as he demonstrated what I believe a religious leader must do. Lead by example, such as visiting a prison, eating with the homeless and embracing people at random. I believe his behavior exemplified what Jesus would have done, had he returned to us in 2015. 

It bothers me to see how modern religions from Christianity to Islam have totally ignored and distorted the original messages of their respective religious founders. In this country, for example, the current message from some conservative Christians of intolerance,  bigotry and even racism would be completely foreign to Jesus whom these folks claim to worship. I think Pope Francis's words and deeds have come closer than any religious leader in my lifetime to answering the question--WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?