I never was a fan of the Pope. Or organized religion for that matter.

I understand the power of like minded people gathering to celebrate similar beliefs. And I will defend your right to worship any old way you damn please. Or not worship any old way you damn please.

Anyway, back to Pope Francis, the Catholic church in particular, has not been a friend to me; it is anti gay, anti choice and anti women (don't argue with me about this, women cannot be priests, cardinals or popes, so they are not equal).

HOWEVER, he has come out with some wisdom so brilliant, I just LOVE him despite myself. It's about giving. Giving to panhandlers, beggars, bums, vagrants, street persons - whatever your judgement phrase is.

Here is what he says: Give them the money, and don’t worry about it.

And further, "You should not simply drop a bill into a cup and walk away. You must stop, look the person in the eyes, and touch his or her hands."

Whoa, what?

But what if someone uses the money for, say, a glass of wine? Or something stronger like hard liquor or heroin or pot? His answer: If “a glass of wine is the only happiness he has in life, that’s O.K. Instead, ask yourself, what do you do on the sly? What ‘happiness’ do you seek in secret?” Another way to look at it, he said, is to recognize how you are the “luckier” one, with a home, a spouse and children, and then ask why your responsibility to help should be pushed onto someone else.

All of this came from this NY Times article.

In these times when we are being told to build walls and repel foreigners, this could be very healing action to take.

The reason is to preserve dignity, to see another person not as a pathology or a social condition, but as a human, with a life whose value is equal to your own.

Please join me.