At last we have another world leader who can continue the Nelson Mandela route of decency and humanity. So this one happens to be connected to an area of organised religion. Nelson was linked to a society. Goodness can sometimes rise to the top.

This is farcical. Mandela was a terrorist and a wife beater, what sort of message is that ?

I do believe he was chosen by the Cardinals to re-verse the right-wing drift.

that church knows more about politics than today's pollies.

JK2006 wrote:
At last we have another world leader who can continue the Nelson Mandela route of decency and humanity. So this one happens to be connected to an area of organised religion. Nelson was linked to a society. Goodness can sometimes rise to the top.

Wise words indeed .... BUT it takes two to tango !

For me - I fear that Francis will cross the very right wing and corrupt Catholics who take care of the billions (which Francis would clearly like to give away to the needy). I hope we don't see an early death (like the smiling Pope - remember him?).

Francis combines the best of left and right; and a lesson for us all on here; political structures have good and bad points so let us, as humanity, champion the positive on all sides of the spectrum. Encourage responsible capitalism but condemn and avoid selfish greed; look after the needy of all types - be they on benefits, unable to function, in need of healthcare, education, support... and consider us a part of humanity, not a rival section of nationalists.

andrew wrote:
This is farcical. Mandela was a terrorist and a wife beater, what sort of message is that ?

he's upset the US Christian Right and the insane Ayn Randians so he can't be all that bad.

www.news24.com/Columnists/GeorginaGuedes...la-grievers-20131213

My favourite quote.


"You do know he was a terrorist/communist/wife-beater?"
Although we have a tendency to make a saint out of Mandela, most South Africans know that he was a complex, flawed man. But he was also a man who shaped the future of our nation and created a place for all of us here. Raising his bad points in the wake of his death is in very poor taste. It’s like going to the funeral of a beloved uncle and imploring people to stop being so sad because he also had his bad points. Stop it.

Racism in SA is still very much alive.

Back to the theme of the century, as mankind gets more and more superficial, with instant gratification and boredom, it becomes less able to distinguish shades of grey and more seduced by simplistic, tabloid headline slogans - and people are either saints or devils, never in between (which is, of course, always the reality).