Nine Communists, I mean, comprehensible Christians
Why does Pope Francis keep talking about Communists? I thought there weren’t any Communists any more. Even China has a competitive market with worldwide manufacturing. Russia has the most pro-Christian government in the world today, and Raul Castro loves Pope Francis so much he’s ready to seriously become a Catholic maybe.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said Mass in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta on Tuesday morning. Following the readings of the day, the Holy Father reflected on the place of poverty in the Gospel, saying that the Gospel becomes incomprehensible if poverty is removed from it, and that it is unfair to label priests who show a pastoral concern for the poor as, “Communists”.
How is it that the work of Christ is meaningless if it’s not all about the poor? It’s not. It’s only ‘incomprehensible’ to Francis and to his “Yoda of Catholicism,” Gustavo Gutierrez. Every faithful Catholic since Christ has understood the Gospels without this hysterical poverty crusade. That’s a new thing.
Still, why re-attach the Communist label?
Francis brings this label up himself time and again in the hopes he can shoot it down. Because it fits. That’s the problem with liberalism. Its labels are apt so they employ word police. Just trying saying ‘Mr. Jenner,’ or noting that women can be lachrymose.
In the 1st reading, which tells of how St. Paul organized a collection in the Church of Corinth, for the benefit of to the Church of Jerusalem, whose members were facing great hardship. Pope Francis noted that, today as then, poverty is “a word that always embarrasses.” Many times, he said, we hear: “But this priest talks too much about poverty, this bishop speaks of poverty, this Christian, this nun talks about poverty … aren’t they a little communist, right?” On the contrary, he warned, “Poverty is at the very center of the Gospel: if we remove poverty from the Gospel, no one would be able to understand anything about the message of Jesus.”
Straw Man: When priests or nuns speak of poverty no one calls them Communists. They call them Communists when they promote statism, forced redistribution, and endless unjust policy goals in the name of ‘social justice.’ That happens all the time, and that is Communist!
Then Pope Francis repeats one of his slogans yet again.
When faith does not reach the pockets it is not genuine.
I’m no Communist. I only want to reach into your pocket so you can be a real Christian!
I DON’T support Francis on many issue but I do agree with him in helping the poor.
I also DON’T like how you and others who twist what he saying to make your point.
You don’t help the poor by making them dependent on the State. You enslave them and steal their dignity. Liberation Theology is nothing more than Marxism designed to create useful idiots out of confused Catholics and deliver them to Satan.
Nobody is twisting his words…..just ignore his words and look at his works. That is the way you know him. Tell me which of them you approve of, please.
The Catholic Church considers poverty a virtue and it is true that God prefers the poor because they better reflect the detachment of the material and the need of Him alone.
The problem with many people like you today is that you blame the poor for being poor without realizing that there are many many factors and reasons why people are poor.
The poor are NOT only poor because they didn’t try hard enough to get out poverty and neither are they poor because they are lazy and don’t want to work.
This is the excuse many people use against the poor and it is base on ignorance but most especially on SELFISHNESS.
Like a child of the materialistic world YOU (like many others) DON’T want to share the resources of rich countries like ours on helping those countries who in many cases have been made poor by the rich countries taking their very own resources.
Christ said the poor you will always have with you BUT me you won’t always have with you but when he says the poor you will always have with you it also means we must continue to care for those who for whatever reason have fallen on bad times or who belong to those poor countries that don’t have the money to use their resources.
It is a sad reality that most Western people REFUSE to acknowledge the fact that many of the very powerful countries the big shots in our world if you want OPENLY and SHAMELESSLY EXPLOIT the poorer countries in our world.
Our Lord Jesus Christ himself said that we are our brother’s keeper and that is true at every level.
So I will agree with Francis the richer countries have a moral obligation to help poorer countries.
Governments are not made up of machines, they are made up of human beings many of whom called themselves Christians, and so if they are Christians then lets act like Christians ought to.
The materialistic world of today make us blind to the fact that we love our material staff and our money more than what we should.
You and I will never know the reasons why some are poor and some are rich but I can assure you something the rich on many occasions ARE NOT rich because they have worked hard to obtain their riches.
And the poor are not poor because they are lazy or because they didn’t try hard enough to get out their poverty.
Like I said before the reasons and the factors are many and the the right thing to do, and only moral thing to do is to help others as much as we can.
Christ is so many passages in the New Testament has commanded us to give to those who are in need.
Don’t make the mistake of of thinking that by giving to the poor you keep them in that state. No you help them because it is the right thing to do. You don’t have to give them money, you can help them by finding them a job or pointing them in the right direction and since that is hard to do for as an individual that is why we need to reach out from our pockets to support the charities that the help the poor get food, clothes, shoes, shelter, search for work, maybe go back to school, maybe help them learn how to read and write etc.
And why should we not expect rich governments to give some help to those poor countries that have nothing?
I don’t expect you or many who think like you to agree with me but Francis does have a point when he says “that the Gospel becomes incomprehensible if poverty is removed from it”
1 John 3:17-18 ESV / 99 helpful votes
But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
Acts 20:35 ESV / 986 helpful votes
In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Proverbs 19:17 ESV / 737 helpful votes
Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.
Matthew 25:35-40 ESV / 605 helpful votes
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ …
Deuteronomy 15:11 ESV / 424 helpful votes
For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’
Proverbs 22:9 ESV / 156 helpful votes
Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.
Proverbs 14:31 ESV / 243 helpful votes
Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.