Interesting piece. I think it would cause apoplexy in bergoglio.
I see a political angle. I have been calling on the Church for more than a decade to do more than march against abortion... call out the Democratic Party. It's in their platforms at all levels. The usual pushback I receive is that they don't get into politics to protect their tax-exempt status. That is false on both sides... they do get into politics and their tax-exempt status isn't predicated on 501c3... but that's a side issue. The point is... there's always a reason to not engage.
One argument pushed by the bishops is the "seamless garment" that gives equal weight to all of the issues. You point out the Democrats support abortion and they point out the GOP supports the death penalty. Yes... but these aren't the same. Pope Francis is giving cover to those who want to equate them. This will nullify the "Democrats support the culture of death" argument into "both sides support evil."
Why would our elections matter to the Pope? We are the world's lone superpower and one of the last holdouts against the worldwide socialists. Outside of China, we are the largest provider and advocate for abortion in the world. Going after the Democrats for their support of abortion will also hurt the worldwide socialist movement. Pope Francis has expressed quite a bit of solidarity with that movement.
I hope the Pope’s statements about a lengthy prison sentence depriving the prisoner of hope are taken out of context. Otherwise, as with other statements by the man, they strongly suggest he is an atheist. The word “earthly” needed to be inserted before “hope.”