I sure like what this Pope says, what he prays for and what he does. He almost makes me want to become a Catholic. Well, almost.
Pope Francis is back in the Vatican after an emotional, popular and thought-provoking trip to Cuba and the United States. He showed concern for the poor; he challenged the rich. He called for more attention to climate change, he castigated gun-runners, he cited the Golden Rule. He showed compassion.
Will those in America pay attention? As the Republicans push their extreme views, all should be concerned about the country becoming an oligarchy, beholden to the rich and powerful. They want to rule without regulation, from air, land and sea.
Do you really believe the likes of Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and their extremist buddies will quit until they have squeezed the life out of government? You should think not.
But this Pope said all the right things. That’s no surprise. After all, he didn’t pick his name out of a hat; he chose Saint Francis of Assisi, one of the most venerated religious figures in history. Chronicles relate that while he went off to war in 1204, he had a vision that directed him back to Assisi, where he lost his taste for his worldly life. On a pilgrimage to Rome, he joined the poor in begging at St. Peter’s Basilica. The experience moved him to live in poverty. He returned home, began preaching on the streets, and soon gathered followers. His Order was authorized by Pope Innocent III in 1210. In 1228, he was proclaimed a saint by Pope Gregory IX. He is known as the patron saint of animals and the environment. He is also known for his love of the Eucharist, his sorrow during the Stations of the Cross and for the creation of the Christmas crèche or Nativity Scene.
Pope Francis told journalists after he was selected Bishop of Rome that he chose to be named after St. Francis of Assisi, “the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation,” the same created world “with which we don’t have such a good relationship.”
The former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina sat next to his friend, Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes, as the voting continued. To become Pope, he needed 77 votes; when that number was announced, Bergoglio said, Hummes hugged him, kissed him and noted, “Don’t forget the poor.” Bergoglio then selected the name, Francis.
Since becoming the Pope in 2013, he has preached the way of Saint Francis of Assisi.
During his speech to Congress last week, he called on leaders to consider the plight of the poor and vulnerable in society.
“A political society endures when it seeks, as a vocation, to satisfy common needs by stimulating the growth of all its members, especially those in situations of greater vulnerability or risk,” he said. “Legislative activity is always based on care for the people. To this you have been invited, called and convened by those who elected you.”
In assessing climate change, the pope called for “courageous and responsible effort” to avert the most serious effects of the environmental deterioration caused by human activity. The United States and Congress, he said, “have an important role to play.”
The pope has focused attention on climate change since the release of his encyclical on the environment in June. The encyclical called on Catholics to demonstrate a “greater concern for nature and the poor” and for world leaders to work proactively toward a strong global climate agreement.
Many Republicans take issue with the encyclical, a detailed call for action regarding the environmental crisis that is already affecting and will continue to impact Earth.
One of them, Senator James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, brought a snowball to the floor of the Senate in an attempt to prove that man-made climate change was a hoax. He believes that the proven science of man-made climate change is malarkey. Congressional Republicans take millions of dollars from big oil and he takes his share. They spend considerable time bowing before the gods of the derricks. You would be foolish to think Inhofe and those of his ilk will accept the call to do something about climate change.
Francis backs many items that go against Republican policies. He has also called for a more compassionate approach to immigration policy, particularly when it comes to children.
He has been outspoken on inequality more generally, calling it the “root of social evil.”
Alluding to the new dangers presented by the Islamic State, Francis addressed the topic of religious extremism, charging the world is “increasingly a place of violent conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities committed even in the name of God and of religion.
“We know that no religion is immune from forms of individual delusion or ideological extremism. This means we must be especially attentive to every type of fundamentalism, whether religious or of any other kind.”
Rather than engage in countless acts of aggression towards threats or potential enemies, Francis said, such challenges require a “renewal of that spirit of cooperation,” promoting a similar approach the administration is taking on the Iran nuclear deal.
So, with all this goodness and an outlook to help the masses, what will the Republicans do? For decades they have hijacked God and religion, twisting and redefining the teachings of Jesus to fit their ideological dogma of intolerance, bigotry and exclusion. Remember, this is a party that threatens to shut down the U.S. government because of its rabid obsession with defunding Planned Parenthood and denying women a range of critical health and reproductive services.
Francis has been vocally progressive and thought-provoking, oftentimes arousing disappointment and ire among many conservatives who oppose what they consider his “liberal” statements and positions.
Francis’ major teaching document calls for a “sweeping revolution” to correct a “structurally perverse” economic system that has allowed the rich to exploit the poor and to turn the Earth into an “immense pile of filth.”
Six Catholics are running in the Republican presidential primary — Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Bobby Jindal, George Pataki, Rubio and Rick Santorum. How will they wrestle with a Pope’s teachings on economics and climate change? Will that not clash with traditional Republican ideology? If the bishops in the U.S. push for the candidates to follow the Pope’s pleas, the historically reliable coalition of evangelical Christians and conservative Catholic voters may fold. That alliance has catered to the Republican base, especially on social issues.
Maybe the appeals by the Pope will fade into the harsh rhetoric of the Republican dogma, just like calls for gun control weaken after a major shooting as the NRA enables its lobbying and propaganda machine.
Don’t look for the Pope’s pleas to have much effect on these political extremists.