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Posted on 01/02/2014 4:01:54 PM PST by markomalley
As long as it was the Tea Party or Rush Limbaugh – the eccentric conservative US radio talk show host - making unfavourable comments about the Pope, these could be brushed off. But if what Home Depot’s founder Ken Langone told CNBC television is true, Pope Francis’ position regarding the economy poses a problem that is slightly harder to resolve.
Some big US sponsors are thinking twice about donating to the Church and this is putting their work they do worldwide in jeopardy. The Pope warned against the excesses of capitalism in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. The text did not go down well with American conservatives and Limbaugh accused the Pope of using Marxist language. In his interview with Vatican Insider correspondent Andrea Tornielli, Francis responded to these criticisms saying that “the Marxist ideology is wrong. But I have met many Marxists in my life who are good people, so I don’t feel offended.”
The dispute with Limbaugh and the Tea Party ended there. But now a more serious issue seems to be raising its ugly head. Ken Langone is a devout Catholic and founder of the big American chain store Home Depot. He has always been a committed and consistent donor of the Church and New York’s cardinal Timothy Dolan included him in its list of financiers contributing to the 180 million project to restore St. Patrick’s Cathedral on New York’s 5th Avenue. The cathedral was built in 1878.
Langone told CNBC that one potential seven-figure donor is concerned about statements from the Pope criticizing market economies as "exclusionary," urging the rich to give more to the poor and criticizing a "culture of prosperity" that leads some to become "incapable of feeling compassion for the poor."
Langone said he had raised the problem with Dolan on more than one occasion: “Your Eminence, this is one more hurdle I hope we don't have to deal with … There is no nation on earth that is so forthcoming, so giving” but they need to be approached in the right way: “you get more with honey than with vinegar.”
Home Depot’s founder said Dolan had reassured him that the donor must have misunderstood Francis’ message: “The Pope loves the poor. He also loves rich people. We've gotta correct to make sure this gentleman understands the Holy Father's message properly.' And then I think he's gonna say, 'Oh, OK. If that's the case, count me in for St. Patrick's Cathedral.'” Langone said he would talk to him about it but neither he nor Dolan wished to reveal the name of the potential donor.
If the problem became more than just a simple defection it could cause complications for the Vatican and go beyond the issue of gathering funds for the restoration of St. Patrick’s. The United States and Germany contribute the most to the Church’s activities across the world. If America’s Catholic philanthropists turn the funding tap off, they would be very hard to replace. This would make it hard for charities like Catholic Charities USA to find funding for projects aimed at helping the poor.
Dolan may of course be right: one person’s doubt does not make it a widespread phenomenon and a better understanding of where Francis is coming from could be the solution to the problem. Strangely enough, the White House hopes to rebuild its relations with the Vatican on these economic and social positions after their disputes over abortion and life-related issues.
As Cardinal Meisner said a little while ago (h/t Fr Z):
“At my last meeting with Pope Francis, I had the opportunity to talk very open to him about a lot of things. And I told him that some questions remain unanswered in his style of spreading the gospel through interviews and short speeches, questions which need some extended explanation for people who are not so involved. The pope looked at me “with big eyes” and asked me to give an example. And my response was : During the flight back from Rio you were asked about people who divorced and remarried. And the pope responded frankly: People who are divorced can receive communion, people who are remarried can’t. In the orthodox church you can marry twice. And then he talked about mercy, which, according to my view, is seen in this country only as a surrogate for all human faults. And the pope responded quite bluntly that he’s a son of the church, and he doesn’t proclaim anything else than the teachings of the church. And mercy has to be identical with truth – if not, she doesn’t deserve that name. Furthermore, when there are open theological questions, it’s up to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to give detailed responses“.
Didn’t know you knew about what the Holy Father should and shouldn’t speak. Fascinating.
Not claiming to say what he should speak...just saying he needs to learn how to say it. Please reference Cardinal Meisner's comments above (i.e., I'm not the only one)
Well, I am Catholic, so I obviously respect and follow the Pope.
But his economic comments are misinformed and not ex cathedra, so we are all free to disagree and point out the rather grievous errors he is making.
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What he calls "excessive capitalism" is no doubt what he saw in Argentina, which would be what we call "crony capitalism". That is where government picks winners and losers, and protects its friends in return for their support.
But the more government tries to control capitalism, the more you wind up with cronies and oligarchs and lots and lots of poor people.
Cardinal Meisner is correct. What Pope Francis says now affects the entire Catholic Church, World wide, vice when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires. He needs to realize that his words will be twisted more than he had to face in opposition by the secular Brazilian government.
For those who may attack this, I will use the example that I had to make a transition from enlisted to officer in my thinking and performance, after I was commissioned. What I might say or do as a sergeant carried an entirely different meaning now that I was a captain. And that is a transition that any NCO who goes through OCS and gets a commission, not just me.
How is he a “victim” of poor translations. Vatican staff did the translations.
Sounds like something that would come right out of Obama's mouth.
When a Pope says these exact things, maybe it is a Pope Death Sign for the Economy.
As evidence, I submit this cover of the NYT in 1931, when anther Pope Pius said very similar things... Yikes.
Sounds pretty left wing to me.
Pope Francis is a redistribution fan if not an outright socialist straight out of the Liberation Theology school. Just like Obama, he seems to have his toadies who try to tell us that he didn’t use the words he used and he didn’t mean the things he meant. There have been many mediocre Popes. He’s just another one. A nice guy who has been compromised by confusing government welfare with Christian charity.
Pope Pius XI was famous for saying that “no one can be both Catholic and socialist.”
Most Popes run their mouths about helping the poor and claiming the rich are not doing enough .... most need to review their organizations and determine how good a shepherd they are before they start condemning the rich.
If the translation of him condemning “unbridled capitalism” as a real problem is correct, than I think he is pretty much a socialist. The only place in the world where unbridled capitalism exists is in socialist fantasies.
Maybe the translation problem started in 1931?
Interesting. I don’t know what to make of this
Who are the “good Marxists” that the Pope has met? Were they his fellow Jesuits?
without looking up the figures....I'd say that the Catholic church is the largest benefactor to the poor in the world....not including any governmental organizations which use your money, not theirs....
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