[Skepolitic]

We can take some comfort that Francis just issued excoriation of capitalism as an apostolic exhortation.

If I understand correctly, encyclicals trump exhortations.

[Dr. Sivana]

We can take some comfort that Francis just issued excoriation of capitalism as an apostolic exhortation.

If I understand correctly, encyclicals trump exhortations.

This is a very complicated area. A lot depends on what authority the Pope is actually asserting, and the circumstances of his statement. (Even in a serious encyclical, a phrase such as "Given the current circumstances ..." means that when the circumstances change, what is to follow may or may not be as relevant.)

Second, excoriating raw capitalism does not imply supporting Marxism. There were economic systems before both Marx and Adam Smith. Even into the 20th Century, men like G.K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc were Distributists. They were arch-conservatives, and very anti-Marxist. The name alone, and a shallow reading on aspects of it would send some Freepers pointing "Marxist!"

Although Pope Francis shall never be confused with an Austrian economist, at least SOME of the translations have been bad, maybe purposefully bad. When the Spanish for "enterprise, by itself" is rendered "enterprise, inevitably", that is a perversion of the meaning. Fr. Z's posts here are informative.