Have you read Ratzinger's recent "global authority" encyclical? It's online, but it is also for sale for $7. It is well worth the investment in order to understand what the RCC is actually shooting for.
Here is paragraph 67. Please read it and tell me if you think it is compatible with this free republic.
"67. In the face of the unrelenting growth of global interdependence, there is a strongly felt need, even in the midst of a global recession, for a reform of the United Nations Organization, and likewise of economic institutions and international finance, so that the concept of the family of nations can acquire real teeth. One also senses the urgent need to find innovative ways of implementing the principle of the responsibility to protect[146] and of giving poorer nations an effective voice in shared decision-making. This seems necessary in order to arrive at a political, juridical and economic order which can increase and give direction to international cooperation for the development of all peoples in solidarity. 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, to seek to establish the common good[147], and to make a commitment to securing authentic 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[148]. 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. Without this, despite the great progress accomplished in various sectors, international law would risk being conditioned by the balance of power among the strongest nations. The integral development of peoples and international cooperation require the establishment of a greater degree of international ordering, marked by subsidiarity, for the management of globalization[149]. They also require the construction of a social order that at last conforms to the moral order, to the interconnection between moral and social spheres, and to the link between politics and the economic and civil spheres, as envisaged by the Charter of the United Nations."
Devil's in the details. You're military. Is this part of what you expect from this republic? As I wrote earlier...
If this weren't written by a Roman Catholic priest, I doubt you would have even one Roman Catholic "conservative" agreeing with it. It is pure communistic, anti-free market, anti-capitalism.
Ratzinger wants this "global authority" to control the United States' policies on polities, immigration, food distribution, finance, health, taxation, property rights and justice systems. "Conservatives" should be outraged at this blatant power grab.
And since I'm anticipating the usual "yeah, but that's not all he said," here's my earlier response to that deflection...
Ratzinger's words say what they say. He's not stupid; just dangerous. He hedges his bet and surrounds his insidious communism with treacly platitudes in order to misdirect those who would prefer NOT to actually read the total of what he wrote.
As I said, even "Das Kapital" contained occasional simplistic sentiments you and I might agree with regarding the welfare of humanity.
It is in the details as well as the over-all intention of a written work that its raison d'etre lies...and the "reason for this encyclical to exist" is to persuade the people of this world that a "global authority" "with the power of enforcement" "on the order of a strengthened U.N." is necessary for world peace. And this "global authority" is to have the power to regulate THIS COUNTRY'S politics, social structure, tax system, food distribution, employment, immigration, judicial system and defense!
The fact that supposed "conservatives" applaud this communistic blueprint is nauseating.
I had never actually read that before, and it is is amazing and alarming, though it does have some qualifying speech (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2288664/posts) against an autocratic world ruler, which would be in contrast to Rome’s gov. under an infallible magisterium, which defies heresy and so cannot never be convicted of it.
It's great to hear from you again, Dr E.
Ratzinger's globalist and socialist leanings are very similar to attitudes displayed by the elitists in both of our major political parties. Consider George Bush senior.
But back to your comments, there seems to be much of the Catholic church that leans left (just my humble observation). Some time back, a church leader (a Cardinal, if I'm not mistaken) finally denied communion to certain proabortion politicians, including Pelosi. It seemed like too little too late...
As you stated, Ratzinger expressed his opinion about what our policy should be. He's gone so far as to endorse some UN ambitions. However, his authority does not seem to be much of a threat. Catholics aren't really that fanatical. Catholic fathers tend not to murder their daughters for having premarital sex. When I turned away from Catholicism, my parish Priest didn't issue a Fatwah.
The bigger threat comes from politicians and activist judges who are trying to foist Sharia and militant homosexual policy onto us against our will.
Unfortunately, the elite of both parties demonstrate a tendency to placate the diabolical god of political correctiveness. I've clashed with many RINO loving FReepers who mindlessly push quislings because, "they're the only ones who can win."
The socialists in our own country have shown that they despise the doctrine of the church in Rome, this includes those who call themselves "Catholic."
Instead of targetting the Roman Church, we should focus on crushing socialism and communism in our own house.
“..an authority would need to be regulated by law, to observe consistently the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity, to seek to establish the common good[147”
What do you think the above means?
66. Global interconnectedness has led to the emergence of a new political power, that of consumers and their associations. This is a phenomenon that needs to be further explored, as it contains positive elements to be encouraged as well as excesses to be avoided. It is good for people to realize that purchasing is always a moral — and not simply economic — act. Hence the consumer has a specific social responsibility, which goes hand-in- hand with the social responsibility of the enterprise
or in 65.. Both the regulation of the financial sector, so as to safeguard weaker parties and discourage scandalous speculation, and experimentation with new forms of finance, designed to support development projects, are positive experiences that should be further explored and encouraged, highlighting the responsibility of the investor.
OR, how the encyclicals starts off
1. Charity in truth, to which Jesus Christ bore witness by his earthly life and especially by his death and resurrection, is the principal driving force behind the authentic development of every person and of all humanity. Love — caritas — is an extraordinary force which leads people to opt for courageous and generous engagement in the field of justice and peace. It is a force that has its origin in God, Eternal Love and Absolute Truth. Each person finds his good by adherence to God's plan for him, in order to realize it fully: in this plan, he finds his truth, and through adherence to this truth he becomes free (cf. Jn 8:32). To defend the truth, to articulate it with humility and conviction, and to bear witness to it in life are therefore exacting and indispensable forms of charity. Charity, in fact, “rejoices in the truth” (1 Cor 13:6). All people feel the interior impulse to love authentically: love and truth never abandon them completely, because these are the vocation planted by God in the heart and mind of every human person. The search for love and truth is purified and liberated by Jesus Christ from the impoverishment that our humanity brings to it, and he reveals to us in all its fullness the initiative of love and the plan for true life that God has prepared for us. In Christ, charity in truth becomes the Face of his Person, a vocation for us to love our brothers and sisters in the truth of his plan. Indeed, he himself is the Truth (cf. Jn 14:6).
or, how it ends
79. Development needs Christians with their arms raised towards God in prayer, Christians moved by the knowledge that truth-filled love, caritas in veritate, from which authentic development proceeds, is not produced by us, but given to us. For this reason, even in the most difficult and complex times, besides recognizing what is happening, we must above all else turn to God's love. Development requires attention to the spiritual life, a serious consideration of the experiences of trust in God, spiritual fellowship in Christ, reliance upon God's providence and mercy, love and forgiveness, self-denial, acceptance of others, justice and peace. All this is essential if “hearts of stone” are to be transformed into “hearts of flesh” (Ezek 36:26), rendering life on earth “divine” and thus more worthy of humanity. All this is of man, because man is the subject of his own existence; and at the same time it is of God, because God is at the beginning and end of all that is good, all that leads to salvation: “the world or life or death or the present or the future, all are yours; and you are Christ's; and Christ is God's” (1 Cor 3:22-23). Christians long for the entire human family to call upon God as “Our Father!” In union with the only-begotten Son, may all people learn to pray to the Father and to ask him, in the words that Jesus himself taught us, for the grace to glorify him by living according to his will, to receive the daily bread that we need, to be understanding and generous towards our debtors, not to be tempted beyond our limits, and to be delivered from evil (cf. Mt 6:9-13).
Good thing reading the Pope’s mind gets a pass on this forum.