Read “Papal Promotion of Collective Ownership and Theft” and then get back to us about John Paul II. One of the co-authors was a longtime Roman Catholic priest.
Here is the opening paragraph:
“The present pope, Benedict XVI, and his Vatican system teach that private property is not personal as such, but belongs to all people. His predecessor, Pope John Paul II stated, “Private property, in fact, is under a ‘social mortgage,’ which means that it has an intrinsi-cally social function, based upon and justified precisely by the principle of the universal des-tination of goods.”1 The principle of “the universal destination of goods” is clearly observed in what the present pope endorses in the second part of his encyclical entitled “God is Love.”2 Benedict wholly sanctions the principle of the universal ownership of all goods embalmed in the writings of popes Leo XIII, Pius XI, John XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul II.3 The phrase, “all goods,” includes not only the goods found in nature but manufactured goods as well. As John Paul II stated, “The vast majority of people can have access to those goods which are intended for common use: both the goods of nature and manufactured goods.’’4 Another Vatican Council II document upholds the same principle of the “universal ownership of all goods” and emphatically teaches, “If one is in extreme necessity, he has the right to procure for himself what he needs out of the riches of others.”5
http://www.bereanbeacon.org/assets/articles/sorted/01_On_Catholicism/Papal_Economics.pdf
bereanbeacon.org
And here the Popes are echoing St. Thomas Aquinas, St. John Chrysostom, and somebody who said something to the effect that if you have two cloaks give one to the man who has none. In all cases, what was urged was that those with more than they need give to those who are in need—the Pope can not be faulted too much for putting for this teaching.
If he actually says that everything above what one needs ought to be taken by the government and given to someone else, I either have missed it or not gotten to it yet.
The first position is Christianity, the second is Marxism.
A third position, that what is mine is only for me and I need not take anyone else into account when using this wealth, smacks of what John Paul II called “practical atheism.”
Popes should stay out of politics and political discussions.
That being said, I disagree with Pope John Paul on that, however, I can’t change what I said.
He was Pope when I was growing up during a time when I loved America and during a time when America loved herself. It’s a period of time that I loved very much and I can’t ever go back to it except in my mind.
Therefore he is set in my mind regardless of his faults.
People that I have seen since that time...I’m just not capable of forming a connection to. It seems like the more I get to know about them what forms in me is revulsion and contempt. I live in a false world, and I’m not partial to it.
My thoughts on John Paul may well be irrational, but they have to stay as they are in order for me to maintain sanity.
ENCYCLICAL LETTER CARITAS IN VERITATE 67. To manage the global economy; to revive economies hit by the crisis; to avoid any deterioration of the present crisis and the greater imbalances that would result; to bring about integral and timely disarmament, food security and peace; to guarantee the protection of the environment and to regulate migration: for all this, there is urgent need of a true world political authority, as my predecessor Blessed John XXIII indicated some years ago. Such an authority would need to be regulated by law, to observe consistently the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity [ambiguous], to seek to establish the common good, and to make a commitment to securing authentic [another favorite ambiguous word] integral human development inspired by the values of charity in truth.
. Furthermore, such an authority would need to be universally recognized and to be vested with the effective power to ensure security for all, regard for justice, and respect for rights. Obviously it would have to have the authority to ensure compliance with its decisions from all parties , and also with the coordinated measures adopted in various international forums.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI and other church leaders said it was the moral responsibility of nations to guarantee access to health care for all of their citizens, regardless of social and economic status or their ability to pay.
Governments are obligated, therefore, to adopt the proper legislative, administrative and financial measures to provide such care along with other basic conditions that promote good health, such as food security, water and housing, the cardinal said. - http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1004736.htm
I liked John Paul and Reagan teaming up to fight communism better than Francis and Obama teaming up to push Obamacare.
I thought the church was supposed to promote private, individual charity, not government-run redistribution.
I definitely don’t think this attitude is new with Francis. There’s a reason Catholics tend to vote Democrat.