11.26.2013 04:03 PM

The Pope is seeking the right kind of politician

…and aren’t we all.

“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.”

His views on the ordination of women and birth control are fully retrograde. But the rest of it? How can you not admire a Pope who writes like this:

“Just as the commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’ sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say ‘thou shalt not’ to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills…

“How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points?”

14 Comments

  1. frmr disgruntled Con now happy Lib says:

    I’m not Catholic…….but Pope Francis is the first Pope I’ve truly admired since John Paul I………….

  2. james Smith says:

    A great and symbolic step would be to canonize Frederic Ozanam

  3. kre8tv says:

    I was baptized Catholic and spent much of the last 40-odd years recovering from my religious upbringing. I thought (and still do) that Ratzinger belonged in jail rather than serving as head of the Vatican. So even with all that…even I am slowly, cautiously warming to this guy.

  4. Adam says:

    If you want to avoid depression, avoid the endless silly comments on those articles (HuffPost and Guardian both) who claim that if the Vatican does not sell off all of its artwork and buildings, it isn’t really interested in helping the poor.

    Ah, if Pope Francis sold off the real estate to other billionaires (turn the Sistine Chapel into a theme park), would that transform the unjust economic system? Of course not. It would move one set of valuable cultural resources from a relatively public organization (the Catholic church), to private organizations. The money realized from the sale might be briefly useful, but without broader economic and political reform, all that would happen is that we would have a weaker Catholic church, a large quantity of Europe’s heritage formerly open to the public in private hands, and vast inequality.

    In any case, well said by the Pope.

  5. Philippe says:

    I was becoming one of those anti-religion guys.. but am a big fan of this new pope. He’s talking about real issues people care about. That, in my eyes, makes him very relevant… didn’t give 2 shits about the former, but every-time I see this pope in the headlines, I’ll actually read the article.

  6. ChristineK says:

    What is the benefit to society at large to help the “poor”?

    Perhaps this Pope is hoping the “poor” will come to the RC church instead of converting to Islam in large numbers. I just don’t trust any religion that denigrates women.

    Didn’t Karl Marx also want to elevate the “poor”, and look what happened.

  7. Jim says:

    For what its worth I have been out of the Church for probably 20 years. The things I have seen and heard from this Pope, and hearing an a Vincentian priest who talked about welcoming love in all of its forms as the true path of Christ at my cousin’s wedding has me thinking a lot about what can be done and if there may be a place for me in Church after all.

  8. Pipes says:

    I dig this new guy man. Right from the top, he carries his own luggage. Wow if Christ can carry his own cross, the Pope should carry his own stuff.

    I think he is great. If he gets any cooloer, I am going to join the Catholic Church

  9. Joe O'Neill says:

    I am Joe Bethany, and I am a pious prick.

  10. Joe O'Neill says:

    I’m Joe O’Asshole.

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