Posted on 10/01/2015 5:19:31 AM PDT by Kaslin
Unpopular though it may be to say so, I, for one, grew exhausted by the nonstop pronouncements/commentaries of Pope Francis. The spiritual leader of 1 billion Catholics -- roughly half of the world's Christians -- Francis just completed a high-profile, endlessly publicized visit to the United States.
But unlike past visiting pontiffs, the Argentine-born Francis weighed in on a number of hot-button U.S. social, domestic and foreign-policy issues during a heated presidential election cycle.
Francis, in characteristic cryptic language, pontificated about climate change. He lectured on illegal immigration. He harped on the harshness of capitalism, as well as abortion and capital punishment.
A fair-minded person might infer from his advice that capitalism is more prone to impoverish than to create enough wealth to bring the underclass out of poverty. Yet the poor in the free-market United States are mostly better off than the middle classes in Pope Francis' homeland. Argentina's statism has transformed one of the most resource-rich countries in the world into an impoverished nation. Are the wages of socialism therefore less than Christian?
Authoritarian regimes such as the Castro dynasty in Cuba or Iran's theocracy do not receive much criticism from the pope for their administration of state justice. Yet Francis blasted capital punishment, which in America is mostly reserved for first-degree murderers, not the perpetrators of thought crimes as in Cuba and Iran.
Francis believes -- and ipso facto puts the church behind the creed -- that global warming is man-caused. It is supposedly ongoing and can be addressed only though radical state intervention.
Francis, who arrived in the U.S. in a carbon-spewing jet, seems to leave no room for other views. If the climate really is becoming warmer, it cannot be because of naturally occurring cycles of long duration.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants are now swarming illegally into the West, whether into Europe mostly from the Middle East, or into America from Latin America. They arrive in numbers that make them difficult to assimilate and integrate, with radical repercussions on the host country's ability to serve the social needs of its own poorer citizens.
Yet Francis reserves most of his advice for host countries to ensure that they treat the often-impoverished and mostly young male newcomers with Christian humanity. That advice is admirable. But the pope might have likewise lectured the leaders of countries such as Syria and Mexico to stop whatever they are doing to heartlessly drive out millions of their own citizens from their homes.
Or he might have suggested that migrants seek lawful immigration and thereby more charitably not harm the interests of immigrants who wait patiently until they can resettle lawfully.
Or he might have praised the West for uniquely creating conditions that draw in, rather than repel, the world's migrants.
In sum, Francis did not fully understand a country founded on the principle of separation of church and state. And he has tragically harmed that delicate American equilibrium.
If a Christian truly believes that capitalism is the world's only hope, that illegal immigration is detrimental to all involved, or that the Iranian nuke deal is a prelude to either war or nuclear proliferation, is he thereby somewhat less Christian or Catholic?
Is Francis aware of age-old hospitality adages about guests and hosts, or warnings about those who live in glass houses?
Would an American president dare to visit the Vatican to lecture the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church about their blatant sex and age discrimination, and to advise Francis that his successor should be female or under 50?
Should Americans urge the pope to adopt the supposedly enlightened Western doctrine of disparate impact, which might fault senior Vatican clergymen for failing to promote diversity in matters of sex, race or age?
In this new freewheeling climate of frank exchange, should Protestant friends now advise Catholic dioceses to open their aggregate 200 million acres of global church lands to help house current migrants? Or should Francis first deplore the capitalist business practices in the administration of the so-called Vatican Bank?
Should the church turn over to prosecuting attorneys all the names of past and present clergy accused of criminal sexual abuse, and cede all investigation and punishment entirely to the state?
Lots of hypocrisy inevitably follows when churches and their leaders politick.
Conservatives who object to Francis' sermonizing often enjoy it when the moral majority and born-again evangelicals stamp their own social agendas with Protestant piety.
Liberals might applaud the pope when he weighs in on global warming and cutthroat capitalism but perhaps want him to stick to religion when he frowns on abortions or female priests.
Because Pope Francis has shed the Catholic Church's historic immunity from American politics, for good or bad, he and the church are fair game for political pushback.
But do we really want a priest in the role of Bernie Sanders or Ted Cruz, dressed in ancient Roman miter and vestments, addressing hot-button issues with divine sanction?
Ping
When Francis started talking politics instead of Religion, he lost me.
Pope JPII handled politics brilliantly.
He worked within the church teachings spreading the message, meeting with those who would support his agenda, but never openly telling world leaders how to run their countries
Is it just me, or did the Cruz criticism in the last paragraph come off as gratuitous, forced, and totally inappropriate?
VDH ping ...
Oh I’m in full agreement. I thought isn’t it a pity that when
most the media and citizenry are going bonkers over The Pope, my cynical nature won’t allow me that enjoy the moment.
But many of those same erstwhile Cheerleaders For Christ are the same ones who “get allergic” and antsy whenever any positive mention of Christianity is made.
I heard one person on TV tell the audience that, according to the Pope, God blesses everyone, including sinners. He went on to say since God blesses everyone than what is the point of being a Christian.
While there will always be those who twist words, believers should be careful of what they espoused as Christian principles.
post 4?
Maybe the burnout started when Francis was still in Cuba, and displayed such a callous disregard for the suffering and abuse of dissidents.
I am a Catholic. I have been properly baptized, received First Holy Communion as well as Confirmation. That said I believe the Pope should stick to what his only job is and that is to reaffirm and re enforce the tenets of the Church...PERIOD.
His Holiness has no business commenting on Global Warming, Capitalism, Immigration or anything else not directly part of Church Doctrine.
lol....It’s just you.
We are all sinners, I know I am and the Pope is correct God blesses everyone if he is asked to
Excellent article....all good questions posed by VDH.
your smart ass snark was uncalled for - and frankly above your pay grade.
The pope never said a word about Global Warming. He was talking about the environment and that it should be saved. He is correct, but the way the environmentalist are doing it is wrong.
Burnout...absolutely...
When you like someone or something, burnout turns to can't get enough...in this case, I don't like Pope Francis, I think he's Peter the Roman (evil)...therefore I didn't listen or read or was in anyway in a position that I had to be as such...
Enjoyment...Life...
I am high on life, I love people, I love new ideas, I love reading, creating things that show how beautiful things are, I love God...
Pope Francis...
I don't trust what he says, I have my proof of why I don't trust him, when he first came out, it took 3 times of listening to the blatter that came out of his mouth to tell he doesn't speak to the God that I do...
Well there you have it...burnout, repugnant, non useful period of life spent to waste time.....
I thought this pope was doing well at first, then he started veering into politics, global warming, immigration...
Any religious leader should stay out of politics. The best thing they could do is keep promoting the golden rule, which is the same for most of the world’s major religions...
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
And stay out of politics. Illegal immigration, same sex marriage, “climate change” are all issues that should be dealt with by governments, not religious leaders.
Of course popes have never stayed out of politics. People hundreds of years ago were told by the kings what religion to endorse, but that was actually done by the pope, who threatened to excommunicate the king if he didn’t make such a decree. So you couldn’t choose to be a Jew, Catholic or Protestant, the king said be a Catholic. By order of the pope...Fear of losing his kingdom was what made the king a puppet of the pope, who was the real leader. But nobody knew it...
Yes, I was ready for him to go home when he was in Cuba.
I agree with you on VDH/Cruz, who lobs a throwaway line bomb at Ted Cruz (and Bernie Sanders?!) at the end. Totally forced, gratuitous and inappropriate. And the analogy to a priest (SRSLY?!) makes no sense whatsoever. I think VDH has a Trump thorn in his gOpE side and this causes him to lash out at Ted Cruz?! C'mon Man!
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