Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Pope Francis is Dangerous

"He’s obviously a nice man, therefore a dangerous man. We don’t want nice men in the Vatican." - Richard Dawkins
Pope Francis is dangerous to the reactionary right and the bigotry, hatred and inhumanity to their fellow man for which they stand.

Writing in his Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis laid out the despicable evil the Thatcherite/ Reagan Neoliberla Trickle Down Economics has wrought over the last 35 years;
Some Challenges of Today's World 
In this context, some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system. Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting 
The worldwide crisis affecting finance and the economy lays bare their imbalances and, above all, their lack of real concern for human beings; man is reduced to one of his needs alone: consumption. 
While the earnings of a minority are growing exponentially, so too is the gap separating the majority from the prosperity enjoyed by those happy few.
Pope Francis has already gone beyond just words and declarations and has taken concrete steps to make the Church more Progressive and more in touch with the values upon which the Church was ostensibly founded.

The Pope removed Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, so-called the Bishop of Bling, after details emerged about renovations to his residence in Limburg, Germany, cost $42 million. The Bishop of Bling is suspended, forbidden from entering his diocese and under investigation. 

The Pope also removed loud-mouthed conservative bigot Cardinal Raymond L. Burke from the Congregation of Bishops.
"He is saying that you don’t need to be a conservative to become a bishop,” said Alberto Melloni, the director of the John XXIII Foundation for Religious Studies in Bologna, Italy, a liberal Catholic research institute. “He wants good bishops, regardless of how conservative or liberal they are."
By embracing Church's role in aiding the poor, holding the rich accountable for their rapacious capitalist thievery, and taking steps to curb the ultra-reactionary bigots in high places of the Church, Pope Francis has alarmed many luminaries of the American Right, like Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and Stuart Varney who all believe that riches on earth indicate gods' blessing.

Of course, the bigots and power apologists who claim to be Catholic but, whose actual deity is Mammon, are incensed at the Pope and have allied themselves with other Ultra-Reactionaries who adhere to the Conservative Principles of Oppression, Subjugation and Adulation of the Rich.

Pope Francis having been born in Argentina has seen first hand the end-state of Capitalism and the vile evil of rapacious Capitalists. And he is also no doubt aware of the statistics across Europe, which show that in many of the old realms of the Christianity 33-50% now claim a Non Believer status. While downright absurdist "religious" views, for example 10 Police Department Personnel of the Strathclyde PD claimed "Jedi" as their religious beliefs, are growing.

So, to Richard Dawkins the dangerous aspect of a Progressive Reformer, which Francis is setting himself up to be, would be his ability to draw many lapsed Catholics and NPCs back into the arms of the Church while also gaining ground amongst the youth.

But, to the despicably evil American Right, Pope Francis the Reformer represents a loss of Political Power and the ability to use that Might to steal Trillions from Americans and the World.

5 comments:

syrbal/Labrys said...

I have to say that while I am firmly an ex-Catholic, Francis and his effect upon the Right Wing amuses me greatly. I watched Christian churches prostrating themselves at the feet of Mammon with "prosperity gospel" crap with dismay….because really, gentle poor Jesus was the last line of defense in a capitalist world.

Mind you, I am with Dawkins…better no religion than one used as a opiate for the beleaguered poverty stricken masses.

the yellow fringe said...

Pope Brownback (KS (R) governor and hopeful for VP pick from Rick Perry in 2016) has had to face a few reporter questions about his open "tirckle down" policy, he brags is taken right out of Ronald Raygun's play book. As a fundamentalist Catholic the Pope in Rome is an absolute attack on the Kansas Pope Brownback. He issued a statement a few days ago "explaining" what the Roman Pope means, it's not what you think, he really wants the poor to find their own food and corporations to run the state unencumbered by taxes and regulations, thats what the Roman Pope meant, and all you guys are just reading your own wishes into it. You very stupid people!

Grung_e_Gene said...

s/L,

Yes, I left the church many decades ago but, such a change of focus away from demonizing Teh Gays would be welcome.

yellow fringe,

Brownback is a thrall for the Rich, but he's also a theocrat. Setting up the Kansas Theocracy with the Rich on top immune from taxes defended by the pulpit, while the poor pay all the costs with most of their income kicked back to the Rich as the endstate.

Dervish Sanders said...

Pope Francis having been born in Argentina has seen first hand the end-state of Capitalism...

Those who think like Palin are worried about Pope Francis' words... others are in denial about who Francis is talking to. They say that the Pope "will be OK as long as he is directing his economic comments at individuals and how they control their own resources and decisions... [but] Once he focuses his comments on government policy, i.e. collectivism which supposedly works toward altruism but really just ends up satisfying greed and avarice, then there will be a problem".

But he is focusing his comments on government policy! I mean, you wouldn't be talking about the evils of capitalism if you were not trying to influence government policy; you'd talk about greed. Greed is a personal sin, while governments set the rules of capitalism.

Talk about ignorance... Palin with her ignorance on what the Bible says about her "prosperity gospel" views, and other conservatives and their ignorance regarding what Pope Francis is actually saying... the self-delusion is mind boggling.

Grung_e_Gene said...

Dervish,

It's a total mystery to them. Palin and the supply-side jesus adherents can not understand the Pope and his distrust of Vulture Capitalism because they lack a frame of reference.