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!