Willie D: The Pope Is Overrated

Willie D of the Geto Boys has never been one to mince words and he continues to be as outspoken now as he was in the 90’s.

“Yeah, I said it.” – Willie Dennis

Me saying the Pope is overrated has nothing to do with his status. It’s about how he’s praised so highly for it for simply being who he is.

This fascination that priests have with boys is still very pervasive in the Catholic church. Just because we don’t hear about it doesn’t mean it’s not going on. It’s not a sub culture – it’s part of the culture. It’s a lifestyle sponsored and protected by the diocese. Before he comes to the United States talking about our politics, our laws and the way we do things, he needs to clean his house, just as our leaders should clean up America before pointing fingers at other countries about their issues.

To paraphrase, the Pope said, “Why is it when a homeless person dies nobody hears about it, but when the stock market crashes that’s news?” Fair question, right? I have another question: why is it when a homeless person needs shelter, they won’t open the doors to some of those opulent warm churches and let them stay there? With all that money they have, the Catholic Church could single-handedly put homelessness out of business. He says we need to treat each other fairly, but many of his followers are at odds with people who don’t look like them; don’t share their skin complexion. There are over 1 billion Catholics in the world, which include – Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, and others… and many of them keep to themselves, and people who look like them.

When the Pope is around it’s like the Boss has returned – and his followers whom I’ll refer to as employees for the sake of analogy – want to put up a front like everything is cool and act like everybody’s getting along. This is not to spite followers of the Catholic church. My point is that people who are held in high esteem must be held to high standards. Nobody is above criticism. He shouldn’t get a pass just because he says nice, friendly things. What is he saying that a fourth grader couldn’t say: ‘I want there to be peace on earth’

People like him because he’s outspoken to an extent, and says nice things. But I guess that in the times we’re living in, being nice is newsworthy. The hype is ridiculous. New York City designated over 6,000 police officers to work the Pope’s visit. They don’t even do that for our own president.

He appears to have more empathy than past Popes, and many world leaders, but where is the action? What is he doing with all that power? His job is to shepherd the flock of God, correct? Well, like many in other religions, and non-believers, the flock is in bad shape. For example, when some in the flock read this interview, their Godly values are going to go straight out the door because many of us can’t accept others opposing our views without coming emotionally unglued. The Catholic churches in North America alone rake in over $850 million in donations every week. But don’t tell me just because the Pope is in charge of Vatican City, the richest state on the planet per capita, that he’s not overrated. That’s the problem with people today; many people admire, and respect a person for how much money they have, rather than how much character they have. Look at America: we love to rave about how the kids are the future, and how much we value them. But government and state spending for incarceration far outpace spending for education, and our communities aren’t getting any safer. Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget and I’ll tell you what you value.

The amount of power someone has shouldn’t be considered when viewing whether or not they are deserving of praise. It’s what they do with that power that should serve as basis for the praise. But even then, bowing down, crying, employing over 6,000 cops to protect one man, and calling a man Heavenly Father is insane. That’s overrating.