By Eomer2010 @Adobe Stock
Best known for urging concern for the poor, in the best Christian tradition, Pope Francis looked for clergy who “shared the suffering of their neighbors,” reports the WSJ. Support for the weakest among us was the rhetorical centerpiece of his papacy. At the same time, he encouraged public informality and openness to the Vatican.
Pope Francis’s ideologies, however, keep the poor in poverty. One of those earthly dogmas is radical environmentalism, which isn’t about keeping the earth clean for human beings but keeping the earth for itself and treating man as the enemy.
In one of his early writings, Pope Francis mentioned, as an example, air conditioning as the “harmful habits of consumption” that will lead to mankind’s self-destruction. Was Pope Francis unaware that escaping poverty requires greater energy consumption?
Pope Francis was markedly anti-America, not just anti-Trump. He believed that Latin America is poor because the United States is rich. His beliefs put up barriers to human flourishing: lack of rule of law, business-government collusion, protectionism, among other barriers.
Unlike his two immediate predecessors—John Paul II and Benedict—Pope Francis was from the progressive wing of his Church. He punished traditionalist bishops who disagreed with his direction, and he has populated the cardinal ranks with fellow progressives.
The Irony from Pope Francis
His progressiveness was most popular in Europe, where the church pews remain empty. Ironically, Catholicism is flourishing in Africa, as younger orthodox followers look for meaning in life beyond Western material consumption and influence.
The reported 1.3 billion Catholics will soon discover who next will lead the Church and the course the new Pope will set.
