Pope Francis is not afraid to take on the issues of his time. Last week he issued an encyclical on the problems that beset us. Catherine Pepinster writes:
In this weekend’s document he makes it clear that populism and nationalism – of the kind Trump typifies – are damaging, warning that “a concept of popular and national unity influenced by various ideologies is creating new forms of selfishness and a loss of the social sense under the guise of defending national interests”.
It’s also clear that Francis has seen through the neoliberal experiment and its alleged trickle-down benefits that have only served to create a class of the super-rich and left behind the people who are most in need – such as people with disabilities and, indeed, those who rely on state-provided education and healthcare. “If a society is governed primarily by the criteria of market freedom and efficiency, there is no place for such persons, and fraternity will remain just another vague ideal,” he warns.
Francis condemns unrestrained individualism. But he's no progressive either:
For Francis, fraternity is much more than an ideal, but a necessity if the world is to become a better place. But while his idealism sets Trump followers’ teeth on edge, he can also make Democrats on the left uncomfortable, too. There is no advocacy here of big government and welfare state narratives either. Instead, he is focused on the local and the small. And at the heart of his teaching in this document and all his papal pronouncements over the past seven years has been a strong stance on the right to life that takes him all the way from completely rejecting capital punishment to vetoing abortion, too.
There are lots of Catholics in the United States. In the last election, they broke 52% for Trump and 44% for Clinton. It'll be interesting to see what happens this time around.
Image: forbes.com
4 comments:
Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite - call forth The National Razor!
Increasingly, Mound, I get the feeling that there are millions of Mme. Defarges out there, who have kept a record of the injustices -- and who will demand an accounting.
That's one way of looking at it. But you have to sarcastically laugh at Pepinster calling the Democrats left and in favour of big government! The Democrats are as neoliberal as they come, as are our Liberals here, and Starmer's takeover of Labour in Blighty is to echo Blair's neoliberalism. So many commentators are poorly read and repeat out-of-date memes, signifying both a lack of situational awareness and cognitive dissonance too. I think Chris Hedges has a far deeper take on the whole Christian fascism thing this week, including remarks on the Pope's recent utterings:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/55685.htm
Note that the comments are hilarious, with right wingers dunning Hedges. Could have been a kenney UCP mass write-in, since he's been documented to be to the right of this pope already by Dave Climenhaga.
It's been quite some time since I've noticed that the exceptional US of A looks at everything upside down and backwards compared to the logic the rest of the world uses. Medicare? Who needs it? Public Health competence? Who needs it? Commies and Muslims under every bed trying to destroy the exalted American way of life? Of course! When you live in paradise on earth, everybody tries to tear you down!
BM
Thanks for the link, BM. There's always been a deep distrust of the left in the United States, BM. Franklin Roosevelt understood that he could only push the envelope so far. Likewise, in Canada, the Liberals have understood that they can implement NDP policies -- but the Dippers will never be in the driver's seat.
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