Posted on 12/10/2013 2:09:51 PM PST by servo1969
So no, you’re not imagine that Pope Francis is preaching Marxism to the flock. He is a product of his time and place: namely the Catholic Church in Latin America from the 1950s through to the present. The Church there is a Marxist institution and he has absorbed those teachings.
What we are seeing is simply another example of the Left’s march through institutions. The Quakers, once pacifists, now promote the Palestinian’s genocidal ambitions against Israel. The Girl Scouts of America, once a youth organization promoting wholesome values for children, now sponsors pro-abortion speakers and is basically run by a far-Left drag queen who made anti-woman, pseudo-snuff videos. The Boy Scouts of America now allows gays (showing that, on the Left, its okay if troop leaders or older scouts molest little boys into the future, but it’s not okay if priests in the 1960s once molested little boys). Notre Dame, once a bastion of Catholic education in America, now invites Barack Obama to give pro-abortion speeches on its campus. Hollywood, which once was run by patriotic Republicans, now promotes anti-American Leftism throughout the world. And of course, there’s the pervasive Leftism that now permeates America’s public schools and all of its universities.
When we read the Pope’s words, it’s important to understand that he doesn’t see himself as a Marxist. He is, instead, preaching core Church doctrine as he sees it. The problem is that, while no one was really paying attention, core Church doctrine in Latin America fell victim to the Left’s long march through institutions. When Francis was given the papacy, he simply took that ingrained doctrine with him. Now that he is Pope, he’s not just spreading Christ’s gospel, he’s spreading the gospel of Liberation Theology, which he was trained to see as inextricably intertwined with Catholicism itself.
There is no doubt in my mind but that Pope Francis is a truly good man, graced with extraordinary compassion. He loves the Church and does not wish to see it destroyed. The primary purpose of the Exhortation is to allow the church to grow and thrive in modern times.
Given Pope Francis’s mission and his goal, it’s tragic that he fails to see that the Marxist, redistributive policies he genuinely believes are part of Catholic doctrine also spell the death knell for the Church. Why do I say that? I say that because I defy you to name me one society in the world that managed to be both socialist and communist, and still be genuinely (as opposed to nominally) Christian. To the extent that Christianity, whether Catholic or Protestant, revolves around the individual — his conscience, his soul, his redemption, his relation to Christ, his worthiness to live (“I say to you, choose life”) — Christianity is antithetical to socialism, which promotes the collective at the expense of the individual and replaces the individual’s conscience with the demands of the state.
This was supposed to be an excerpt.
Sorry.
The actual article linked is much longer.
The problem here is that the general attitude the Pope expresses towards business and capitalism is much older than Marx. In fact, it arguably goes all the way back to the founding of the Church, and most certainly was prevalent during the Middle Ages.
Not all who are skeptical towards business or capitalism are Marxists.
True. I was raised Catholic. I left more than one Parish because of Priests constantly preaching social justice.
They would read the Sacred Scriptures with no real passion. However, when they got to the Homily they would come alive with social justice garbage.
They had an inner anger that was revolting. There are many in the Church doing the work of Satan.
Free Markets are arguably the second most important principle (next to G-d’s relationship with man) for the freedom of mankind.
That the Pope regularly misunderstands the principle of freedom in economics means he is either horribly misinformed or a doctrinaire leftist.
I can’t figure out yet whether he’s truly a leftists anti-freedom guy.
I’ll take opinions from my Catholic Free Market friends on the matter.
So are you actually reading his words, or what someone else THINKS he said? Jorge Bergoglio has never been a Liberation Theology kinda guy, and has worked against it, in Argentina.
Just because he doesn't slobber all over capitalism doesn't mean he's a Marxist. He doesn't like unbridled capitalism, or the type of crony capitalism that's practiced all over the world. Heck, we Tea Partiers have been complaining about crony capitalism for years!
He doesn't misunderstand the principle of freedom in economics, he just believes that within that freedom should be a spark of the desire to help those who cannot truly help themselves. If one is a true Christian, that is part of one's nature, and it is NOT a Marxist inclination.
Either make your own way in the world or lir down and die!!
The Pope did not call for free enterprise with morality. He simply railed against it.
I've watched with interest, this last week, as FReepers defended him by projecting their own philosophies onto his words. But he said what he said; his words were clear.
In this context, some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system.
To even use the term "trickle-down" belies your statement.
Free markets are simply people buying and selling things from each other.
I don’t what your definition of “capitalism” is.
“Unbridled” by who or what? Once you allow government to put a bridle on freedom you get... CRONY CAPITALISM. Putting a bridle on free people is where crony capitalism comes from.
“trickle down” is a loaded term to begin with, only far leftists use it in this context.
Thanks for the post. I once read Bookworm regularly but had let if fall off my list. His [her?] comments are, perhaps, the best I’ve read on the topic of the Pope’s address.
If Francis cannot discern from Scripture that voluntary renunciation in Christ is a million miles from coercive redistribution, why is he Pope? This author’s argument doesn’t wash, as wise Christians easily see through Satan’s phony version of charity. How much more the Pope?
However, to give Popes, Priests and Pastors a pass because they are not trained in the economic sciences is too easy. The question to ask is this, does the Church (all churches) think that thous shall not steal is not an absolute commandment? Does it need an asterisk after it in the bible? Because forcible taking property from one person is a sin even if the proceeds go to notable cause. It is still a sin even if one steals from another under the guise of democracy.
I would go even further, does the church support covenanting your neighbors possessions? Because this is the tool of the left all over the world to work the poor up to support leftist/progressive/socialist policies. Jesus was well aware and taught the covenanting led to stealing and saw no difference between the sins.
FREE ENTERPRISE THE FAIREST SYSTEM, KEY TO ENDING POVERTY -
Arthur Brooks AEI
May 18, 2012
By Peter Samuel
Briefs poverty free enterprise aei
“The (biggest) recipients of the blessings of free enterprise are the poor themselves. How do I know it?
“Go back to 1970, and compare 1970 around the world to today. It turns out that between 1970 and 2010 the worst poverty in the world - people who live on one dollar a day or less - has decreased by 80 percent. You never hear about that.
“It is the greatest achievement in human history, and you never hear about it.
“80 percent of the world’s worst poverty has been eradicated (in 40 years.)
“That has never ever happened before.
“So what did that? What accounts for that?
“United Nations?
“US foreign aid?
“The International Monetary Fund?
“Central planning?
“...nah.
“It was globalization, free trade, the boom in international entrepreneurship. In short it was the free enterprise system, American style, which is our gift to the world.
“...I will assert and defend the statement that if you love the poor, if you are a good Samaritan you must stand for the free enterprise system, and you must defend it not just for ourselves but for people around the world.
“It is the best anti-poverty measure ever invented.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss80iuEBC6A
“THE GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT IN HUMAN HISTORY”: THE GLOBAL REDUCTION IN POVERTY.
Kevin Glass | Jan 04, 2014
American Enterprise Institute scholar Mark Perry highlights what he says “might qualify as the chart of the century because it illustrates one of the most remarkable achievements in human history.”
.
Perry also points to Arthur Brooks’ commentary on why this is happening across the globe:
It was globalization, free trade, the boom in international entrepreneurship. In short, it was the free enterprise
system, American style, which is our gift to the world.
I will state, assert and defend the statement that if you love the poor, if you are a good Samaritan, you must stand for the free enterprise system, and you must defend it, not just for ourselves but for people around the world. It is the best anti-poverty measure ever invented.
That’s not to say there isn’t a long way to go in making progress on global poverty - not to mention poverty in the United States - but it’s important to recognize how far we’ve come in the last fifty years.
I spoke with Zack Beauchamp on Bloggingheads.tv on this exact topic. In our 2013 round-up video, he highlighted this trend and said that 2013 was likely the best year in human history:
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.