One thing the Pope and Barry have in common is the belief in open borders. But at least the Pope does not only want it in order to bolster the voter roles of his party for the future.
Everything is always about Barry. Always. If an election wasn't looming do you think Barry would have given this old Italian ex-pat the time of day? Really?
Probably not. Barry0 is hoping to mend some fences with Catholics after his assault on their religious convictions, by hob-nobbing with the Pope. Too bad Francis gave him the time of day, but I suppose it is part of being the Bridge-Builder In Cheif
FWIW, I'm not a Catholic but I do admire Francis. I think his humility is genuine and refreshing.
That said - I think he also represents a pretty prevalent strain of economic and political thinking in the Church, a kind of naive Christian critique of market economics which is particularly prevalent in southern Europe and Latin America: "capitalism = greed", "competition = cruelty", etc.
This strain of dogma reached its most extreme form in "liberation theology" which held that the Church had a Christian duty to support Marxist revolutionaries in Latin America. As it happened, pope John Paul was around to dissuade his flock from pursuing those convictions too aggressively, having first hand experience with actual Marxist political regimes and the damage to humanity (and the Church) which they inflicted.
But John Paul was not necessarily a fan of capitalism either, and (though again, I'm not a Catholic) it seems to me the critiques of market economics made by many popes is grounded in the authentic cannon, exegesis and traditions of the Catholic faith.
There are other strands of exegesis within Catholicism, e.g. Opus Dei and its prominent adherent, Larry Kudlow, who is a full time professional cheerleader for free markets. But they seem to be the exception.
My point is that I think Francis and Obama share a common dim view of market economies.
lady red, lol!!! Loved the quote, he's putting it kindly!
ReplyDeleteEven the pope can't help the community organizer in stopping the steam roller headed his way on November 4.
I don't think the Pope is in any way interested in stopping the steam roller on November 4!
ReplyDeleteOh drat, you know what I mean! :-) I should have said "even meeting with the Pope isn't going to help BO in November".
ReplyDeleteOne thing the Pope and Barry have in common is the belief in open borders. But at least the Pope does not only want it in order to bolster the voter roles of his party for the future.
ReplyDeleteEverything is always about Barry. Always. If an election wasn't looming do you think Barry would have given this old Italian ex-pat the time of day? Really?
ReplyDeleteProbably not. Barry0 is hoping to mend some fences with Catholics after his assault on their religious convictions, by hob-nobbing with the Pope. Too bad Francis gave him the time of day, but I suppose it is part of being the Bridge-Builder In Cheif
DeleteFWIW, I'm not a Catholic but I do admire Francis. I think his humility is genuine and refreshing.
DeleteThat said - I think he also represents a pretty prevalent strain of economic and political thinking in the Church, a kind of naive Christian critique of market economics which is particularly prevalent in southern Europe and Latin America: "capitalism = greed", "competition = cruelty", etc.
This strain of dogma reached its most extreme form in "liberation theology" which held that the Church had a Christian duty to support Marxist revolutionaries in Latin America. As it happened, pope John Paul was around to dissuade his flock from pursuing those convictions too aggressively, having first hand experience with actual Marxist political regimes and the damage to humanity (and the Church) which they inflicted.
But John Paul was not necessarily a fan of capitalism either, and (though again, I'm not a Catholic) it seems to me the critiques of market economics made by many popes is grounded in the authentic cannon, exegesis and traditions of the Catholic faith.
There are other strands of exegesis within Catholicism, e.g. Opus Dei and its prominent adherent, Larry Kudlow, who is a full time professional cheerleader for free markets. But they seem to be the exception.
My point is that I think Francis and Obama share a common dim view of market economies.
I'll not begrudge Francis for his naiveté; it's not his job to be sophisticated about economics and it is his job to raise consciousness of the losers and the disadvantaged in society.
The American President has a different portfolio and a higher bar. One the current office holder fails to meet.