No one disagrees on broad topics such as preserving the environment or helping people, the disagreement starts when people start suggesting the best ways to do so, or what needs to be done. An example would be if someone made a speech suggesting castration of anyone accused of rape, then when people pushed back against it someone would say "Is there really something to debate here? We're talking about preventing rape!!!"
bobby the great, cml, Commodore- they're all being purposeful dolts in this thread. The Pope doesn't have influence? Really, he's not that stupid, he's doing it on purpose. What this Pope talks about, mainly, and what he does are the types of things we were always taught about Jesus when I went to Catholic school for 8 years. And it amuses me to no end to see these so-called Christians/conservatives stammer and obfuscate b/c they realize, oh ****, Jesus' teachings are at odds with our philosophy! Matter of fact, the biggest irony in all of this is that what the Pope preaches is what atheists are more apt to live out than Catholics. Imagine that.
Why would Pope Francis, whom 1.2 billion Catholics (who are your brothers in Christ) view - as a matter of centuries of tradition dating back to Peter - as the vicar of Christ on earth, need to say Jesus' name for it to be implied that he is dedicated to serving the church and carrying out Christ's teachings? It's pretty clear that Francis' purpose is carrying out Jesus' second-greatest commandment: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Where is your demonstration of love for you neighbor you compare the leader of their faith to Karl Marx?
Actually, you are quite incorrect in that there are certainly people who don't think we need to do anything about the environment and that people should help themselves, that blame all homeless people for their plight, etc. If you're that naive to think otherwise, LORD HAVE MERCY ON YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mark Levin is an absolute ****ing moron- complaining that the Pope is lecturing to us rather than praising the U.S. Has this jackass ever been to a Catholic mass? Umm, Levin, THIS IS WHAT PRIESTS DO- THEY LECTURE YOU ON THE RIGHT WAY TO LIVE YOUR LIFE. How is that hard to understand? And I love him going on and on and on about the Founding Fathers and their insistence on LIBERTY FOR ALL! LIBERTY FOR ALL! Yeah, sure they were - unless you were black- then liberty went right out the window, Levin, you $%^&*&^%$%^ moron.
It's hard to believe that so many people are fooled into believing this man is some sort of modern saint -- he's collecting souls nothing more.
Some Catholic doctrines, as interpreted by Pope Francis, can be categorized as "left wing" (like the economic message) while others are more "right wing" (like the church's position on abortion and gay marriage) according to how they work in the U.S. The interesting thing is that, right now, many members of the American right, including Catholic members of the American right, seem to be much more upset when the Pope says something disagreeing with them than members of the American left. The Pope went visited a group of nuns suing against a mandate for providing contraceptive services to employees of their non-profit organization. It is a position that's certainly not what most Democrats believe in, but I haven't heard many rants about this. Meanwhile, we hear all this "Pope = Communist!!!!" talk from the right.
This Pope makes people who pervert Christianity to allow for their own intolerance and greed feel guilty. It's a message that is really needed. ( I think Christianity is all about what you yourself actually do and not at all about what other people do. That's the ultimate profundity of the philosophy but it seems totally missed in popular religion.... same in Islam)
It is confirmed. The pope is definitely an atheist commie democrat. Freaking Robed Argentenian Not Christian Is Satan I can see it now as a bumper sticker ... next to a faded and peeling SECEDE sticker on a lifted F250.
Class war is a constant quality of human civilization. Egalitarianism is always the moral high ground and self-interested greed the low.
I'm not going to get into what the proper interpretation of Biblical text but it sounds like you were hoping that the Pope would be proselytizing and declaring his faith when the purpose of his speech and the setting that wasn't the point. You're giving the flipside of why Donnymost didn't feel that the Pope was qualified to speak in front of Congress as a religious leader. You seem to be disappointed he wasn't giving a specifically religious speech. I will give the same response that the Pope is also a political leader whose influence goes beyond being just the Catholic Church. In that sense he doesn't need nor would it be appropriate for him to give an explicitly religious speech in that setting. Further in a political setting the Pope understands the diversity of the audience and is trying to reach them on a broader level than just religion. It sounds like what you are asking for is the Pope to not just have been proselytizing but also giving an explicit statement of faith, speak to the base. While that might've fired up Christians it would've been seen as divisive by those who are not along with those Christians who are uncomfortable with religion playing too large a role in politics. The Pope very clearly wanted to reach both believers and non-believers. He doesn't need to restate why he is a Christian or why he believes the Gospels are important. His position already does that.
The Atlantic article I posted earlier addresses this. A lot of what the Pope says makes him sound like an American Democrat but his positions don't really fit neatly into either American major party. As far as the beliefs in social justice this isn't new to Catholicism and even the Conservative hero Pope John Paul II was interested in social justice.
It's amazing to me that people who are not religious seemingly know more about the religion than the zealots.
You inadvertently just preached the Gospel!!!!!!! :grin: Matthew 25: 34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
I have wondered this as well. Even if you want to go by very early Church teachings; inclusiveness, self sacrifice, empathy, patience, love and reverence for the poor all were central. I find it odd that The Pope speaks for the Church when he is Conservative. When The Pope is not inline with Ayn Rand, all of a sudden he is not a mouth piece for the Church. The point that is lost in all of this is that Francis doesn't even view issues as liberal or conservative and does not like the terms. He is inclusive and open minded, I didn't know that was a liberal exclusive. Further there isn't and never has been a perfectly unified Catholic Church and wasn't even prior to the death of Jesus. It is like a family. Even now there are huge differences within the Cardinals and Bishops. Pope Francis' teachings are more true to the New Testament and the early Church. If you want all fire and brimstone and a judgmental Church, get another faith.
I don't know why you deleted your post. You are entitled to do so, but you were not disrespectful in the least.
