I’ll go with Rush Limbaugh before I go with the Pope on these matters!
I will go with Pope Francis and here’s why. Pope Francis was referring to the evils of consumerism. As part of our social expectations we all seek bigger houses, bigger cars, more expensive dresses, and seek the Hollywood dream. This is how we “move” up by moving away from the Gospel theme: “What Doth It Profit A Man If He Gains the Whole World and Suffer The Loss Of His Soul.”
In short we seek the “golden calf” and this takes us away from the Christ. Monasteries, convents, and the ascetic life are all part of the “poverty” the Church extols as part of the Beatitudinal injunction: “Blessed Are The Poor…..”
The collapse of Lehman Bros, the JP Morgans, and the currency manipulators like Soros is precisely the breed that Pope Francis has in his cross hairs, and so must we.
It is not up to me to tell the Pope what to say, but IMO he should stick to what he knows.
He should guide me in what is right and wrong about my spiritual well being and leave world economics alone since he is so obviously Naïve about them.
Don’t you remember how Rush Limbaugh lied about the pain meds he was on? I don’t trust him at all.