[who_would_fardels_bear]

The commies really were not friends of the environment, minorities, or the LGBT crowd that Francis is celebrating. They certainly weren't ecumenical in tolerating alternative views.

Most of the nonsense that Francis is on board with is associated with the Critical Theory that came out of the Frankfurt School. They were Marxists, but they had seen that the political and economic tacks they had taken weren't getting the outcomes they intended.

So they decided to focus on the culture and social structure. At that point did they cease to be Marxists? I don't believe that they all secretly agreed to advance their philosophies just to undermine the morale of the West. I think they really believed the nonsense they were spouting was generally good for the West. I think Francis agrees with them.

It's much more complicated then just Marxism. The gay mafia, the actual mafia, the Freemasons, and the Soviet Union have always been trying to undermine the Church from the outside and inside. It's a miracle that there still is something resembling the Church still standing.

[PerConPat]

Yes...It is more complicated than any one ideology. IMO, the love of power is the basic evil that stalks humanity...secular or spiritual...Ok...I'm a cynic; but I see most leaders being more concerned with power, as opposed to what they must espouse to gain it.

[Vigilanteman]

Also a good point. Some of the worst examples of environmental degradation came out of the iron curtain countries when the iron curtain fell. You would end up in the gulag if you tried to impede that type of industrialization "progress". The America hating left can embrace bitter enemies like the Islamofacists and the LGBST crowd because they share a common goal.

Meanwhile, you see certain Freepers spew vitriol against pro-American groups such as Mormons, Japanese, Jews and others because of relative trivialities.