Free Republic

In November Rush Limbaugh blasted Pope Francis for his anti-capitalist economic statements. Rush Limbaugh admitted being “befuddled” by the harsh words about “unfettered capitalism” released by Pope Francis. “If it weren’t for capitalism I don’t know where the Catholic Church would be?” The Pope has gone beyond Catholicism here… This is just pure Marxism coming out of the mouth of the Pope.” [video] Today Pope Francis responded saying, “The Marxist ideology is wrong.” But, then he went on to attack free-market “trickle-down” economics. Via Vatican Insider: Some of the passages in the “Evangelii Gaudium” attracted the criticism of ultraconservatives in...

Or: The Dangers of the Church (When it Meddles with Affairs of the State) Right, not a pleasant topic, to be sure and I expect to receive some flak for this. First, I’ll confess to admiring some aspects of the path the man who is Pope Francis has taken. I have been glad to read reports that he has rejected some of the trappings of the papacy and that he appears in some ways to be an in-touch-with-the-common-man Pope. However, to use his pulpit to preach about the “failings” of capitalism is, I believe, not his place. I’d be quite...

It is fascinating that the recent debate over poverty, starring Rush Limbaugh and Pope Francis (maybe, translations subject to disagreement) reveals one central dispute: (a) compulsory "charity" by government force, on the left, versus (b) the freedom of each individual to voluntarily donate to charity and make one's own decisions about his or her life, on the right. Forget what either Rush or Francis said. The raging debates that followed are most revealing. Liberals have consistently abused Christian teaching to attack free enterprise and spread socialism. These are not just Catholics, of course. In fact, most -- or all --...

I'm annoyed that so many Hollywood celebrities hate the system that made them rich. Actor/comedian Russell Brand told the BBC he wants "a socialist, egalitarian system based on the massive redistribution of wealth." Director George Lucas got rich not just from movies but also by selling Star Wars merchandise. Yet he says he believes in democracy but "not capitalist democracy." Actor Martin Sheen says, "That's where the problem lies ... It's corporate America." And so on. On my TV show, actor/author Kevin Sorbo pointed out that such sentiments make little sense coming from entertainers. "It's a very entrepreneurial business. You...

Click to buy! Michael Coren, the author of the recent title The Future of Catholicism, has a comment about a Pope who condemned “unfettered” capitalism.Keep in mind that “unfettered” capitalism is nowhere to be found.With that… from Coren on Mercatornet: I hadn’t realized that Pope Francis was a Marxist until two weeks ago. This was when he issued his lyrical, compelling [poor translated] Gospel of Joy and was immediately described as a fellow travelling socialist by left as well as right; the former with delight, the latter with horror.The truth, of course, is that all the Holy Father did was...

Catholicism's new Pope Francis has called for efforts by someone else to help the world's poor and to reduce income inequality. The Pope is a teacher of Christianity for world Catholicism but also a chief executive managing the vast global enterprise of the Catholic Church. Education and training for vocational (practical) skills -- such as learning to be a carpenter -- would be one of the greatest solutions to worldwide poverty. As it happens, the largest school system in the world outside of government is operated by the Catholic Church. (To be fair, Catholicism is not one single legal organization.)...

America is a country that is now utterly divided when it comes to its society, its economy, its politics. There are definitely two Americas.

Well that'll be the day when you say goodbye Yeah, yes that'll be the day when you make me cry You say you're gonna leave me, you know it's a lie 'Cause that'll be the day when I die Buddy Holly With President Obama (re) declaring war on free markets to enact social justice this week, we have been warned and reminded that capitalism has no friend at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. The taxes, regulations, and demonization only backfire and retard growth. Even yesterday's "great" GDP revision was marked by lower revisions for consumer spending, because people are earning less,...

"The Pope loves everyone, rich and poor alike." It's safe to say that the above is not the most quoted line from the pope's most recent and most talked about essay, Evangelii Gaudium, which includes some pointed criticism of late capitalism. "If we don't love the poor, and do all we can to improve their lot, we're going to go to Hell," Philadelphia's Archbishop Chaput said in a 2011 interview. In an e-book, New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan repeated the line, seeing it as a point of continuity between Pope Benedict XVI and his successor. According to most church...

A young entrepreneur was baffled when a Portland security guard thwarted her attempt to help her father pay for her braces by selling mistletoe - but told her she could beg, instead. Madison Root, 11, arrived bright and early at Portland Saturday Market, setting up a sign and basket next to the Skidmore Fountain in the downtown area to sell her wares to the crowds. ... Madison Root knew her upcoming orthodontic work would be expensive, and wanted to contribute. She spent Friday cutting mistletoe at her uncle's farm in Newberg, then wrapped it in clear cellophane and tied it...

An 11-year-old who was banned from selling mistletoe (shown) in a public park in downtown Portland, Oregon, now has more orders for packages of the popular holiday plant than she can handle. "There was never enough mistletoe for this," said Ashton Root, whose daughter Madison was ordered to stop when she began selling mistletoe at Skidmore Fountain in downtown Portland Saturday morning. The story of the aborted enterprise was aired on Portland TV station KATU Sunday evening. National networks and websites carried the news, and by Tuesday afternoon people from all over the country had contacted the KATU newsroom, wanting...

In a recent segment on his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh talked about the pope’s new apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. I don’t have the space to address everything Limbaugh said, but what struck me was his mischaracterization of Pope Francis's comments about economics.The fundamental problem was that Limbaugh chose to quote not what Pope Francis wrote but a Washington Post article on the exhortation, which stated: Pope Francis attacked unfettered capitalism as "a new tyranny" and beseeched global leaders to fight poverty and growing inequality, in a document on Tuesday setting out a platform for his papacy and...

From Pope Pius XII, the much beloved, anti-communist and anti-Nazi pope, to Pope Francis, the 266th pontiff of the Catholic Church, the church has undergone a lot of changes. In the 224-page document, “The Joy of the Gospel,” Pope Francis critiqued the following. •The current capitalist inequalities (Socialism and communism were never equal; there were two classes, Communist Party apparatchiks and the proletariat.) •“The idolatry of money” (The Vatican is wealthy beyond belief if one considers thousands of priceless works of art, marble statues, gold and silver icons, urns, crucifixes, chalices and marble cathedrals around the world. Should the Church...

'Tis the season for giving. But when you give, do you know your money will help someone? Social workers say, "Don't give to beggars." Those who do give are "enablers," helping alcoholics and drug users to continue bad habits. It's better to give to charities that help the "homeless." I put "homeless" in quotes because my TV producers have quietly followed a dozen of the more convincing beggars after "work," and all had homes. Once, I put on a fake beard and begged for an hour. At the rate money was coming in, I would have made ninety bucks...

Forget the debate over whether Obama is a socialist. Now we’re discussing whether Jesus is for big government. Or, to be more accurate, the Pope has started a debate about whether free markets are bad, particularly for the poor. Samuel Gregg of the Acton Institute wrote about the underlying theological issues in an article for National Review, but I hope I also contributed to the secular aspect of the debate in this BBC interview. Editor's Note: I'm Catholic... Conservative, Traditional Catholic. Mitchell's right; Pope wrong. This is not a matter of doctrine. We are all free to disagree with the...

…and a pretty sweet Minority Report-esque dynamic infographic (“infomotion?”), to boot. The point? The world today has more than its share of problems, but we can all be thankful it isn’t the world of 200 years ago. The charming Swede is Hans Rosling—physician, statistician, and host of BBC 4′s The Joy of Stats. Pretty much everything about this video makes me happy, not least of all that the Brits have a TV program celebrating statistics itself.

We discover in the New Testament, in Luke Chapter 12:13-14: “Someone in the crowd said to Him [Jesus Christ], ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.’ But He said to him, ‘Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?’” In just one verse, we see that God rejects the left-wing “Jesus Christ supported socialism” heresy. When Jesus was asked to support redistribution of wealth – to tell one brother to share the family inheritance with the other – Jesus refused. Jesus would never support government or a church stealing property by force to give...

Pope Francis has authored his first letter and in it he makes a bold statement Tuesday, calling upon world leaders to fight unrestricted capitalism, which he called "a new tyranny." He also called for moving power away from the Vatican and renew of the Church. In an 84 page document known as an apostolic exhortation, titled, "Evangelii Gaudium" (The Joy of the Gospel) Pope Francis explained some of his positions on key matters in a very official capacity. Among those positions was a warning that unfettered capitalism was a danger. For Americans, especially conservatives, this may sound like an ominous...

It’s an exceedingly simple show: A panel of potential investors — “the sharks” — sit in a row, taking business pitches from Americans of every imaginable stripe, and every imaginable walk of life. They are hoping to get those rich guys and gals — themselves a walk through the American diversity quilt — to fund their start-up businesses. The show is ABC’s Shark Tank. Now in its fourth season, it’s exceedingly entertaining. It’s so entertaining that it’s the No. 1 show in America in the coveted 18-to-49-year-old demographic on Friday evenings. And what’s not to enjoy? It is part American...

American conservatives — perhaps to a person — were outraged and disappointed by Pope Francis’s tough statement about free markets and capitalism and his highlighting of the harm caused by inequality, consumerism, and “trickle-down economics.” Habemus Anti-Capitalist Papam! No, wait. That’s not quite correct. American progressives — perhaps to a person — expected American conservatives to freak out. “Pope Francis basically just endorsed the de Blasio agenda!” and such. But conservatives pretty much didn’t react that way. Not surprising, really. Christians on the right are accustomed to Sunday sermons denouncing crass materialism, and exhorting the faithful to help the poor,...