- Do you think he’s been paying to Obama’s overspending? I do.
What color is the sky, on ...?
Posted on 11/26/2013 5:46:30 AM PST by cizinec
In it, economic inequality features as one of the issues Francis is most concerned about. The 76-year-old pontiff calls for an overhaul of the financial system and warns that unequal distribution of wealth inevitably leads to violence.
"As long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world's problems or, for that matter, to any problems," he wrote.
Denying this was simple populism, he called for action "beyond a simple welfare mentality" and added: "I beg the Lord to grant us more politicians who are genuinely disturbed by the state of society, the people, the lives of the poor."
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
To repeat for emphasis:
“Consequently, they reject the right of states, charged with vigilance for the common good, to exercise any form of control...”
Is he calling on individuals to act, or STATES? Is this about giving freely, or for states to exercise control?
Oh, I know the church has had a history of collaboration with the State (ie, FORCE).
After all, it is the ROMAN Catholic Church.
Ok, so unfettered capitalism is less than ideal...What about capitalism balanced by strong voluntary charitable organizations that hold the trust of volunteers and donors?
Now, lets look at the other side, unfettered socialism or communism. IT KILLS MILLIONS, AND PREVENTS FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION and many other God-given rights.
Which system is due commentary and guidance from religious leaders?
Do you think he’s been paying to Obama’s overspending? I do.
No solutions will be found as long as we have unfettered capitalism? God cannot overcome? God isn't the solution? Abandoning capitalism is the solution? Bah...that is faith in man and what man does.
Amen. We need to get the info from the source. Many Freepers once again hanging onto every word of a totally left-wing rag.
These are truly great teaching points. I’m sure that the
pope was taught them and I’m sure he made an “A” in
Sunday school. But to twist them around and use them for
the purpose of promoting socialism is deceit. Especially
when recent history shows what happens when people do
what he is posing here, which is socialism.
Francis like Obama is just another communist plant.
Actually the Vatican is not that wealthy.
Very true. Thanks for your wise words.
That's a nonanswer.
The Church spends money, time and blood in vast amounts every year to help the poor and desperate.
The Pope is asking that everyone take an active role in following the Gospel.
Perhaps local parishes melting down heirlooms is one way to go about things, or perhaps the local parishioners would prefer to donate new resources of time and money themselves rather than sell off the time and money that their grandparents sacrificed to adorn their local parish church.
What is more in tune with the Gospel - undoing the intentions of your ancestors, or making new sacrifices yourself?
**1. He condemns capitalism in general.**
I doubt that he actually said this. Remember this source is like the Slimes or the WaPo
Hmmm... you seemed to have missed the second line of my post which was entirely the point - or as another poster said, the “Walkoff Home Run”.
Amen.
Republish Reprint
Kristopher Morrison | 08/03/13 10:06 PM EThttp://news.nationalpost.com/2013/03/08/wealth-of-roman-catholic-church-impossible-to-calculate/
the church’s finances?
1 The symbolic value, in euros, of the buildings in Vatican City. The church uses this number to indicate they are priceless and could never be sold. They include: the Apostolic Palace, the pope’s official residence; the Sistine Chapel, best known for murals by Botticelli and Michelangelo, who painted the ceiling and the famous Last Judgment behind the altar; and St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest church in the world erected over the supposed burial site of the apostle St. Peter, the first bishop of Rome.
716,290 The amount of Church-owned land, in square kilometres, across the globe — an area slightly bigger than Alberta. Properties include Vatican embassies, churches, cathedrals, monasteries, some schools and convents.
10 Reported investment (in billions of dollars) in foreign companies by the Institute of Religious Works (the Vatican bank) in the 1990s. It has holdings in such industries as banking, insurance, chemicals, steel, construction and real estate. It only invests in companies that operate according to Catholic morals. For example, it will not invest in a pharmaceutical company that produces birth control.
86 In millions of dollars, Peter’s Pence in 2011. The Vatican’s most important source of ready cash is made up of donations from parishes across the globe. The money is spent on humanitarian projects, including disaster relief, medical aid, and help to the poor in developing nations, children and refugees.
22.4 In millions of dollars, the approximate value of almost one metric tonne of gold owned by the Holy See in 2008.
308 In millions of dollars, the Vatican’s revenue in 2011. It spent $326.4-million, but ended the year with a $27-million surplus.
31 In millions of dollars, the amount seized from the Vatican bank by Italian authorities during an investigation into money laundering.
2 In billions of dollars, the amount paid out as settlements by the church for sex-abuse allegations in the United States.
National Post
Should have been
Do you think he’s been paying attention to Obama’s overspending? I do.
But that’s not what he’s talking about. Obama/Democrat wealth redistributions to their voting blocks, is NOT what this pope is talking about.
If that redistribution is controlled by any man or group of men, that process will invariably be corrupted into what we see with Obama.
That sort of talk is one reason why American Catholics could be relied upon to vote for "liberal" candidates, since those supposedly "cared" for the poor, while conservative and Republicans in general have long been characterized as doing the trodding upon the "down-trodden" (if there be much of that sort of "class" in America today).
This piece really bothers me.
“unequal distribution of wealth inevitably leads to violence”
He is talking about money and the control of it and not God as a solution. What is wrong with the poor if they become violent in coveting the money of others? What would be missing in their lives? It wouldn’t be money, would it? Wouldn’t that mean that the poor are also worshiping money?
I also wonder why it is always rich people that are preached to as if they are the only ones who can make a difference. The poor are like children to be taken care of and tended by the rich.
I am not dirt poor but I am certainly not rich. I don’t want to be rich, either. I don’t want what the rich have, I am happy with my life as it is.
In weakness and greed I sometimes daydream about having some of the options of the rich but I always wake up and know my life is the life I want. I want no keepers in the rich, I want no life where the elite decide what is fair.
I want the life God has given me, I want my free will—good and bad and the freedom that God promises. I will never find happiness in a rich mans wallet or centering my world on money or the lack of it. The minute I focus on that, I lose happiness because I’ve taken my eye and heart off God.
I am not allowed a larger ration of sin or excuses because I am poor. God is fair and all are equal under his law. If I am violent because I am poor, I’m too far from my Lord.
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