The Pope has died today at the age of 84.
In some respects I admired the man, but in other respects, mmmm not so much. He stood as a beacon for world peace, and opposed war and violence, including the war on Iraq. He also decried global economic inequality. In this sense, he was a progressive Christian in the tradition of Christ
On the other hand, he was was too conservative with respect to "private morality". He opposed homosexuality. He opposed not only abortion, but even birth control!
Let us hope that the next Pope continues to represent peace and justice, but decides to put "private morality" issues to one side, so that they be exactly that: private.
