God’s Dream, according to Pope Francis

There can be no confusion between the family God wants

 and any other type of union.

The family, founded on indissoluble matrimony that unites

 and allows procreation, is part of God’s dream and that 

of his Church for the salvation of humanity.

Pope Francis, addressing Vatican judges on a bill that

 would legalise civil partnership for gay people as well as for 

unmarried heterosexual couples and which is being debated

 in the Italian senate.

Italy is the only major western European state not to

 recognise civil partnerships or same-sex marriage.

Despite the European Court of Human Rights condemnation

 of Italy last year for failing to introduce a law on civil

 partnerships, its passage has been held up by objections

 from politicians of all stripes.

The Guardian

God’s Dream

It was revealed that Thou dreamst, dear God,
and that Thy dreams are only known by some,
like Francis.

Why then hast Thou made us dream other dreams?
Thou hast been making us plural, yet some,
like Francis,
were made to tell us that our dreams are wrong?

Pray, tell Francis, in his dreams, that our own
are of all the godly dreams the sum,
and that his dream is just one
of all the dreams Thou hast forced us to dream.

After that we might begin to, as we want to,
like Francis. 

The freedom to punch

Pope Francis in an airplane, and Dr. Gasbarri laughing at the prospect of being punched on the face by the former... because he's too weak by now?

«It's true that we can't react violently, but, for example if Dr. Gasbarri here, a great friend of mine, says a curse word against my mother, then a punch awaits him. It’s normal… It’s normal… One cannot provoke, one cannot insult other people's faith, one cannot make fun of faith. There is a limit. Every religion has its dignity ... In freedom of expression there are limits.»

Those were the heightened, heavenly words of Pope Francis, specially so for he proffered them while flying in an airplane. Most likely even God Herself overheard him—he was that close to Her. 

Landing a fist on a friend’s face because the latter said something offensive about our mother is not the same as killing a dozen persons because our deceased and supposed Father was offended. So Francis’ argument seems not to take off right from the beginning.

But let’s imagine, for two minutes or a couple of thousand of years, that Francis' argument was valid, which is something we usually have to do anyway when the likes of Popes are talking. 

My father, who, like Muḥammad, is deceased, was a huge defender of the freedom of speech and of respect towards our intellectual opponents’ viewpoints. He even had the nerve to tell his progeny that he wasn't religious, but if any one of us five wanted to be baptized and follow a creed that he would hold nothing against us. 

Setting up limits to “freedom of expression,” as Pope Francis wishes, is no easy task. For instance, who would set those limits? And why those persons and not others?  And what about defining the limits themselves? Is the limit set to when someone is offended or feel that their beliefs are being made fun of? We’re always offending someone: reading the comments that Internet trolls leave on almost every website might help you reach that conclusion. So the complexity of setting any kind of limits to the freedom of speech is huge not to say insurmountable.  And what could the solution to it be? We can always try not to offend people, or accept the fact that our beliefs (and not only) will be offended, as that’s the way of the world, never forgetting that our beliefs are not us, and that beliefs can very well change. 

What I think is that Pope Francis, unless he apologizes for having said that there are limits, offended my father by not respecting his idea of no limits to the freedom of speech, and insulted my belief that religion—like any thing else, I repeat, like any thing else—has no dignity attached to it per se unless demonstrated, item by item. Francis also offended God for She's been thought to be a male for far too long.

And therefore, Pope Francis, according to his own reasoning, should be the first one to admit that I have the natural right to punch him in on the face. As I'm kind, I'll be happy if he just offers me one cheek to slap. Only one.  Only once.