Pope Francis shocked crowds who had gathered at the Vatican to hear his Sunday blessing when he inadvertently uttered "cazzo"-the Italian word for the f-bomb, instead of "caso"-the Italian word for "chance."
This slip of the tongue is far from being the most notable thing the pope has done thus far during his time at the Vatican. In fact, Pope Francis's more liberal view of the Roman Catholic Church and its role may have been partially responsible for the widespread belief that an article by Erik Thorson on the Diversity Chronicle website containing radical quotes from the pope was true.
The article qutoes Pope Francis saying numerous radical things, including that "the church no longer believes in a literal hell," "all religions are true" and "in the future, it is my hope that we will have a woman pope one day."
However, websites of numerous news organizations, including CNN.com, have stated that this article is not factual, or even that it is meant to be. In fact, the Diversity Chronicle website comes with a disclaimer stating that, "the content on the blog is largely satirical," and its creator, Erik Thorson, follows this up by saying, "I created this blog for my own personal amusement."
While Pope Francis may not be writing off the Bible as an "outdated" book and encouraging women to aspire to the pontificate, he has pushed the boundaries of traditional Catholicism in other ways. In another CNN.com article, Pope Francis is quoted as saying, "If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?"
This week, Center for Spiritual Life is celebrating Faith Week in an attempt to educate students and give them a platform for religious discussion. However, the message of tolerance that Pope Francis and Faith Week are sending is one that should know no bounds, religious or otherwise.
You don't have to believe that Adam and Eve is true to be open-minded and show compassion-and you can believe the Bible is a crock from start to finish and still do the same. It may sound simple, but sometimes we need to be reminded that a little kindness can go a long way and that even the pope drops an f-bomb now and then.