I Don't Really Have Opinions on Popes ...

... because, frankly, I'm not qualified to. I'm not a Catholic. I haven't gone to catechism classes, I don't attend Mass (except for a single midnight Mass at Christmas with a friend once), I can count the times I've even been in a Catholic church on one hand with fingers to spare. I have a very basic grasp of Catholic doctrine, but if you pointed out a pope to me and asked me to carefully analyze his papal words and actions vis a vis Catholic doctrine, I'd tell you you were asking the wrong guy.

I do, however, have opinions on the great number of supposed Catholics who greet every pope -- including, now, Leo XIV -- with gripes that his words and actions are somehow unrepresentative of catholicism (and, therefore, Christianity), because his politics are "wrong," etc.

Just to make sure I had it right, I popped the following prompt to Microsoft CoPilot's AI chatbot: "Catholic doctrine on papal primacy." I got the answer I expected:

The doctrine evolved over centuries, with key developments including:

• First Vatican Council (1870): Defined papal primacy as a jurisdictional authority, meaning the Pope has universal, supreme, and immediate power over all Christians.

• Second Vatican Council (1962-1965): Emphasized the Pope’s role within the collegiality of bishops, balancing his authority with the broader Church hierarchy.

• Papal Infallibility: When speaking ex cathedra (from the chair of Peter) on matters of faith and morals, the Pope is considered infallible.

If you're a Roman Catholic, you presumably believe that Jesus gave Peter (whom you consider the first pope) "the keys to the kingdom of heaven," which he passed down to the popes who followed him via "apostolic succession," and that therefore the pope, whatever else he might happen to be, is the representative of God on Earth.

Either you believe Roman Catholic doctrine on the role and authority of the pope, or you don't.

If you do believe that doctrine, whether you like what he says or does is kind of irrelevant. He's. The. Boss. Because. God. Almighty. Himself. Says. So.

If you don't believe that doctrine -- if you think Pope [insert papal name here] is a dangerous heretic who's wrecking Christianity, rather than the authoritative representative of God on Earth -- then you are arguably not a Catholic, at least as I understand the term.

Either way, why whine about it?

If you agree with Catholic doctrine on his authority and primacy, then you're admitting that where you and he disagree, God says he's right and you're wrong.

If you don't agree with Catholic doctrine on his authority and primacy, abandon the Holy Roman Catholic Church and find another (or no) religion that you do agree with. "Problem" solved.