Posted on 11/27/2013 2:18:56 PM PST by NYer
While he did not cite the sources for his material, one can readily see from the above post that he relied upon the mainstream media, the very group he often lambasts. He also applied what he read to the US, without recognizing that the church is universal and hence the pope's message is for catholics in all countries.
I'm sure some of you are Rush fans .. was he hoodwinked by relying on msm sources?
“Subsidiarity” still remains the official Catholic teaching against the concentration of power.
The lowest level of authority which is able to address a problem should be left to address that problem.
Francis is no doubt a good man, but like many Clerics, he is an idiot on economic issues.
The Pope really is a socialist.
He is completely wrong, capitalism is not Tyranny, and its not worship of money. Socialism is worship of government and the pursuit of collective SALVATION through collectivism. It crushes individualism and replaces God with the state.
God wants individuals to love him,not a collective.
The Pope is completely backwards in these beliefs.
I think Rush was referring to the Washington Post. We have the article here at FR. It’s from the New York Daily Post.
As a new Catholic, if what I read is what the pope said and meant, then I’ll be the first to say to him, “Remove the log from your own eye before telling me to remove the splinter from mine.”
There’s no way that Rush read the whole Exhortation and thought it through at this point. He could have said, “I haven’t read all of it and thought it about in the context of the entirety of Christian teaching from the first century until today, so I have nothing to say except, ‘Pope Francis sent out a document.’ “ But he didn’t, so he’s added to the noise.
What is the “correct” translation?
I am seriously hoping that it is a complete misrepresentation of the pope’s message.
But if not...
I love Rush and the Pope. Rush wasn’t bashing Francis, he was just pointing out the obvious, that Francis is incorrect in his assessment of capitalism. If that’s what he even said in the first place, which I’m guessing was doctored in translation to cause as much trouble as possible.
I have never met a Catholic priest who is not a socialist. I am not saying that all priests are socialists, but the ones in my neck of the woods are. I consider them to be ignorant on the laws of economics.
Since I don’t know what Rush was working from, I won’t comment directly.
But I do know that Pope Francis had a long record of fighting against liberation theology and socialist governments while he was in South America.
Also, as a matter of fact, the free market is not sufficient IN ITSELF to establish a free and decent society. You also need basic religion and morality, so people will control and discipline themselves. The free market can do a lot, but it really isn’t completely sufficient without a certain number of people who have a basic sense of right and wrong.
And, yes, I certainly support the basic logic of a free market. The two things that made Western Civilization what it was were Christianity and economic competition.
Did the Pope say something different than reported? If not, then, no.
Well, then. Maybe you can kindly explain what the pope meant by the "tyranny" of markets. Seems plain enough to me, too. When the Pope advocates for the sanctity of life, can we take his words for what they mean or do we have to delve into milennia of context?
No #54 of the Pope's statement in his own words:
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, Pope Francis wrote.
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, the 76-year-old pontiff added.
What’s confusing about the “tyranny of markets”? If one’s life is oriented toward maximizing income, irrespective of morality, that is idolatry, just as St. Paul said.
Goodness - now is Rush taking statements out of context? - It’s hard to tell as he doesn’t put them into any. It’s the Pope’s job to tell people “THE LOVE of money is the root of all evil”. Calling the wealthy to give is exactly what a Pope should do - he should call ALL people to give and many in the West are wealthy in comparison to the rest of the world. If people don’t see some tyranny in the way some global corporations are run then I am afraid there is little hope for their eyesight - many of these are not USA companies or were once but are now owned by Chicoms, Saudi’s and Asian conglomerates and they do not have any societal concern - they might sponsor their favorite sport but that is about it or maybe their local Jihadi. He did mention the world’s economy which I would say has gone way past Capitalism - it may seem like the same on the surface because people still trade in stocks etc but the major shareholders are not so clear in many cases and the money goes God knows where. It seems to me that the Uber rich and lefties in general are happy to use “Unfettered Capitalism” to bring the whole system down so to that extent it is dangerous. When one guy can change the value of a country’s money by what he keeps or sells then it has all gone a bit far.
Ducking and Running
Mel
A free market decreases tyranny. That was Reagan's position which the Pope seems to have been bashing.
The further you get from a free market the more tyranny you have.
I agree with the Pope, ON A PERSONAL LEVEL (ONLY). I will handle my money as the Holy Spirit says (still learning).
But that’s it. Do not judge me on appearances. Which he has done, looking at my spending and giving habits (which he can’t really see).
Let’s hear him encourage folks to get ‘saved’, and on their way to being conformed to the image of Jesus. Their giving will then be directed by God towards His purposes.
Let’s hear the Pope talk about Tithing. /$ Try that with corporations, or Governments!
Yeah, sounds like Rush is Right.
I’m LOL’ing that Francis has even pissed off Rush.
I think when the Pope denounces the ‘idolatry of money’, he is talking about the exact people that liberals love - pop singers who buy multi-million dollar mansions, pay $20k for a bottle of champagne, etc.
He is merely pointing out that, while Jay-zee enjoys blinging it up, he has completely forgotten that there are people in near starvation poverty all over the world.
In other words, he is ‘guilting’ people into being more charitable.
Now I don’t know how the liberals are making this leap of logic - the Pope is encourage people to be more charitable in their daily lives, and to seek enrichment from something other than money or material goods. How on earth do they translate that to mean “the government should take money from the rich and give it to the poor?”.
I also think liberals are making a huge mistake, with what they consider poor. The Pope is talking about people who live in terrible conditions, often under brutal governments, with no hope of improvement, and a primary concern is not starving to death. The liberals are taking him to mean the poor in western first world nations. The poor people in our cities aren’t really that poor. They get welfare, foodstamps, etc. And more importantly, they have hope - if they want money, they can walk down to a fast food place of 24 hr gas station any day of the week and apply for a job...this is very unlike the poor that the Pope talks about.
I don’t think the Pope cares one bit about whether or not we raise taxes to subsidize our growing walk about class. He is talking about real poverty.
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.