I just pray I am not seeing the Holy Father through my Obama lens.
This is the greatest pitfall for the West, in our own current state of affairs, that is, all politics all the time, where we Christians see losing ground every day under this administration, and we know the language of subterfuge, confusion, vagueness, that socialists and Marxists use to get it done and to take that ground.
To hear that language from our pope is pretty shocking for me.
I am Catholic forever— I’m just sayin’. Thx, Rita
I hear you sister and hey, what you say is possible but I don’t think probable. I think what we all suffer from here (on FR and conservatives in general) myself of course included is when we hear the buzzwords we reflexively think “Marxist!”
In this case the buzzword “redistribution” is causing the consternation. But if viewed from the lens of subsidiarity, i.e., redistributing “benefit”, not money, then such reflexive fears can be assuaged. Indeed, in addition to curtailing crony capitalism, as another has pointed out, tax cuts, reductions or eliminations in regulations, reducing the size and scope of government itself (all conservative principles) all can be and are satisfactorily described as “redistribution of economic benefit”, because under onerous regulation, heavy, complicated taxes, and government largesse, only a few prosper (those associated with government either by employment or through friendship of those in government).
When these obstacles to equal opportunity are removed, in every sense of the phrase, there is a “redistribution of economic benefit”.
I think that should be the focus here, not reflexively reacting to the word “redistribution”. Rather everyone should ask, “Why did he use the word ‘benefit’ in modifying ‘economic’, if all he is really saying is ‘redistribute the money you greedy capitalists’?”
Again though, I agree, he needs to be more careful with his words.