The Pope is on-board! (don't need no ticket either!)

I was born into the Catholic faith, baptized, confirmed (my confirmation name is Paul! - I was thinking McCartney at the the time!). But that was a long time ago, in a land far away.

Somehow I never believed that the Pope was infallible. Just didn't really enter my hardened noggin. And I felt bad for that Jesus guy, but "son of god" always seemed a little too grand, (unless we say every living thing is in the same category), it seemed like he got the short end of the stick, but then, he somehow got launched to greener pastures, and well, that was how the story went.

I always saw it as a story. Never totally bought any of it.

So, anyway this is a roundabout way of getting to the news that the Pope (I always thought the job was just a little bit silly) now tells us that polluting the earth is a sin! Excellent dude! Glad the Pope's on-board, but really, was anyone just sitting around waiting to hear it from his lips? Does the fear of hell now loom over billions of Catholics who thought they were clean as a whistle?

Wonder if it will move anyone to be a little more conscious of their conspicuous consumption? Does that mean that Jesus wouldn't drive a HUMMER? He wouldn't throw his Wendy's wrapper out on the highway? He wouldn't make jokes about Al Gore? And what about plastic bags? And the rain forest and the polar bears? I'm thinking the sinning is just about endless! Pope you got some work to do here!

UPDATE: I've been ruminating over this, does one gain "indulgences" against previous sins, if for instance, one rides public transportation? Riding the red line on a Saturday does sort of seem like purgatory. Or how about taking the Irving Park bus on a bitter winter day? Can one trade in the time spent on public transportation (it's the environmentally friendly thing to do), can the time accumulated be charged against future transgressions? If I buy a Prius, do I lessen my chances of burning in hell for eternity?