For the avoidance of doubt, and to bring this back to the OP's intention, I do not agree that the pope should be allowed to say what he did about our desire for a tolerant and prejudice-free society without getting a well-deserved slapdown for his efforts. That is a different thing entirely. That is the bizarre spectacle of a Christian campaigning for the right to be, well, un-Christian to people he doesn't like. Very odd indeed.