Popa, do you have ruach hakodesh? How else would you know he’s a frum Jew trolling? I see no reason to think he’s not telling the truth. I’m surprised we don’t see more non-Jews on this site — we’re less than 1% of the population, and the whole world seems to be obsessed with Jews.
About the use of the term “retard,” what else does derech eretz (as in, derech eretz kadmah laTorah) mean other than to abide by the basic standards of politeness and decency in our host societies? Isn’t it pretty universally frowned upon (outside of schoolchildren and fratboys) to use the term “retard” or “retarded” as a derogatory adjective? If so, then how can any frum Jew justify using such language?
As for the Pope, although Jews generally consider Catholicism both heresy and idolatry, some Jews figure that since the world is divided among secularists and religious people, and Catholics and Orthodox Jews share some values (regarding things like euthanasia and gay marriage), and reinvigorated Church would be a good thing.
I’m not sure about that myself — perhaps the less successful the church is, the more likely a Noahide movement could spread among non-Jews and lead them on a the true path.
On a practical level, the Vatican is widely believed to have many holy Jewish artefacts from ancient times, so it’d be nice to get those things back. If Francis did that, many Jews would be very happy with him. I’d also be pleased if the Vatican took a less pro-Palestinian stand, or just kept its mouth shut on Mideast politics.