Pope Francis has died

If we ever reach the point where we aren't interested specifically in what prominent elders have to say, we're screwed.

Not every "prominent elder" deserves respect. Certainly not on the basis that men in a smoke filled room elected them the infallible avatar of a God that most people don't even believe in. People are in awe of this latest Pope because his morals were essentially normal and not medieval. The Pope was just a guy in a robe.

The world would be much better off if we listened to scientists and scholars - people who at least earned the authority with which they speak - the way we listen to priests.

He's mainly prominent for the his role in an archaic cult. I'm not sure what we gain with giving special interest to anyone in such roles

Francis would have been the first to call himself just a guy in a robe. I’m an atheist and don’t find it difficult to listen to people of all faiths put forward moral philosophy, and I can identify parts that I agree with even if I might disagree that there is any supernatural basis for them. There’s a wide world of thought available that is simply outside the remit of science, and there is a lot to be gained from listening to people who have spent their lives dedicated to that domain, even if some of it is wrong, and even if none of it is founded in peer-reviewed academic papers.