ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay — His speeches can blend biblical fury with apocalyptic doom.
Pope Francis does not just criticize the excesses of global capitalism. He compares them to the “dung of the devil.” He does not simply argue that systemic “greed for money” is a bad thing.
He calls it a “subtle dictatorship” that “condemns and enslaves men and women.”
Having returned to his native Latin America, Francis has renewed his left-leaning critiques on the inequalities of capitalism, describing it as an underlying cause of global injustice, and a prime cause of climate change.
Francis escalated that line last week when he made a historic apology for the crimes of the Roman Catholic Church during the period of Spanish colonialism — even as he called for a global movement against a “new colonialism” rooted in an inequitable economic order.
The Argentine pope seemed to be asking for a social revolution.
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"Revolution" eh,...sounds good to me.
(Article stolen from the NY Times.)
This gets more surprising all the time. Next thing you know he'll be leading a Crusade against Wall Street. I hope those Swiss Guards are up to their reputation.
ReplyDeleteI like the picture too. Not that I'm so much into Jesus images, as you know; but I like the implied critique of our society and its values. Only in America is it a crime, in some jurisdictions, to feed the hungry or give alms to the poor; and of course we see people with signs like that all the time. It wasn't always this way.
Z
It takes a lot to shock one these daze. However the localities that have criminalized the poor have done just that. You'll recall my description of the official poster, and announcements over the speakers here in town in the subways.
ReplyDelete"Do Not Give Food or Money when Asked." "This Interferes with the Efficient Running of the Transit System."
I remember the first time I heard this,...passengers looked at each other in disbelief. Especially the older folks who remember when we were a Civilized people.