I have to laugh at Sanders supporters who are so blinded by either their love of Sanders or hatred of Clinton, that they are completely ignoring how farcical it is that Sanders is gushing about a man who heads an institution that actively and aggressively lobbies against reproductive rights all over the world, and while this may seem benign in the US, where most Catholics use birth control and have access to it and legal abortion as well, there is nothing benign about it in majority Catholic nations that are dealing with issues Americans can not imagine. The two presidents that attending the conference, Rafael Correra and Evo Morales, are both left-leaning on economic issues (ie socialist), but to the HARD right on social issues. Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have lambasted both nations for the record on reproductive rights. Half of maternal deaths in Ecuador are due to botched abortions, access to birth control is extremely limited - the head of the government agency in charge of reducing teen pregnancy is an anti-abortionist associated with the highly conservative Opus Dei, and preaches abstinence as a solution. Evo Morales, president of Bolivia, is nearly as bad, because although abortion is supposed to now be legal in Bolivia (unlike Ecuador where it is only legal if there is a high risk to the mother or in the case of rape of a mentally challenged woman), he has done all he could do prevent access to abortion and birth control.

These are not men any progressive would want to be associated with, and frankly, seeing pics of Sanders warmly shaking the hand of Evo Morales and sitting beside him smiling and chatting with him, really turned my stomach, as it should anyone who believed that Sanders was all about speaking the truth. This Pope is not more progressive than any other Pope - while it is good that he has spoken out about excess wealth and corporatism (fully in line with Church doctrine) this does not mean he is a 'good guy', he is not grandpa who has some old fashioned views but is basically benign, he is the leader of a Church with one billion followers and said only last year that the use of condoms could be spreading aids. He is completely opposed to the ordination of women, gay rights, and reproductive rights. But pedophile priests are okay - they can just be shifted to another diocese. If I was a man whose popularity was based on being someone who 'told it like it is' and 'stood up for the little guy' I would not want to go anywhere near the Vatican unless I used the opportunity to point out the disconnect between preventing access to birth control and claiming to want to help the poor.