My take is that we ought to give the man the benefit of the doubt. He has had an enormously positive influence on the world for decades, spreading patience and kindness and compassion.

Was this incident creepy and out of touch with western sensibilities? Obviously. But he’s old and playful and probably just had a senior moment. I can see why everyone assumes the worst, given the history of religious power in the west. But to jump to the conclusion that he is just another pedo religious leader is unfair.

The outrage I’ve seen on other threads about this is completely predictable and yet uncalled for. That his title should be removed, that he’s just like a pope, that he’s been doing it secretly for decades and this just happened to be caught on video so he apologized. Absurd stuff.