Pope: Caring For The Poor A ‘Touchstone’ Of Christianity, Not Communism
Some U.S. conservatives have branded the first Latin American pope a Marxist for his frequent critiques of consumerism and focus on a church “that is poor and for the poor.” But in an interview contained in a new book, Francis explains that his message is rooted in the Gospel and has been echoed by church fathers since Christianity’s first centuries.
“The Gospel does not condemn the wealthy, but the idolatry of wealth, the idolatry that makes people indifferent to the call of the poor,” Francis says in “This Economy Kills,” a study of the pope’s economic and social teachings, excerpts of which were provided Sunday to The Associated Press.Specifically, Francis summarized a verse from the Gospel of Matthew which is the essential mission statement of his papacy: “I was hungry, I was thirsty, I was in prison, I was sick, I was naked and you helped me, clothed me, visited me, took care of me.”
“Caring for our neighbor, for those who are poor, who suffer in body and soul, for those who are in need: this is the touchstone. Is it pauperism? No. It is the Gospel.”
He cites church fathers dating to St. Ambrose and St. John Chrysostom as expressing the same concerns, and noted somewhat wryly that if he had said the same “some would accuse me of giving a Marxist homily.”
“As we can see, this concern for the poor is in the Gospel, it is within the tradition of the church, it is not an invention of communism and it must not be turned into some ideology, as has sometimes happened before in the course of history,” an apparent reference to the Latin American-inspired liberation theology.
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edmeyer_able January 11th, 2015 at 11:10
Can you imagine the outcry if Obama said anything similar about ANY religion?
rg9rts January 11th, 2015 at 11:51
It is part of the hate creed of the american theocracy.. its WASP or nothing..
Chinese Democracy January 11th, 2015 at 16:30
I can imagine the outcry from RWNJs if Obama said ANYTHING period. As has been proven over and over and over.. Benghazi forever!
William January 11th, 2015 at 16:33
You sir, have hit it spot on.
edmeyer_able January 11th, 2015 at 12:10
Can you imagine the outcry if Obama said anything similar about ANY religion?
rg9rts January 11th, 2015 at 12:51
It is part of the hate creed of the american theocracy.. its WASP or nothing..
Chinese Democracy January 11th, 2015 at 17:30
I can imagine the outcry from RWNJs if Obama said ANYTHING period. As has been proven over and over and over.. Benghazi forever!
William January 11th, 2015 at 17:33
You sir, have hit it spot on.
Denise January 11th, 2015 at 11:44
I love this Pope! He is spot on! Besides the verse about when I was hungry, you fed me….The other I like is it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle (a door, not a sewing needle), than a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. That’s because the rich worship money. They never have enough. Their greed, self centeredness, lack of empathy/sympathy, hard headedness….Will do them in if they do not change their ways.
Denise January 11th, 2015 at 12:44
I love this Pope! He is spot on! Besides the verse about when I was hungry, you fed me….The other I like is it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle (a door, not a sewing needle), than a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. That’s because the rich worship money. They never have enough. Their greed, self centeredness, lack of empathy/sympathy, hard headedness….Will do them in if they do not change their ways.
crc3 January 11th, 2015 at 11:46
I’m not Catholic but I do think he has been spot on with most of his comments since he has become the Pope. One only has to look at the holidays to see that consumerism has overtaken society. From the insanity of stores opening on Thanksgiving Day…Black Friday and post holiday sales it doesn’t take genius to realize that Americans have been brainwashed into thinking this is all good. Running up charge cards and overspending for material things is a recipe for personal financial disaster when someones disposable income is low or non existent. All the while consumers try to out do one’s neighbor or friend for the “best” car…tv…house…etc. Pure madness! Financial institutions and corporations are loving it as year after year it gets worse…
crc3 January 11th, 2015 at 12:46
I’m not Catholic but I do think he has been spot on with most of his comments since he has become the Pope. One only has to look at the holidays to see that consumerism has overtaken society. From the insanity of stores opening on Thanksgiving Day…Black Friday and post holiday sales it doesn’t take genius to realize that Americans have been brainwashed into thinking this is all good. Running up charge cards and overspending for material things is a recipe for personal financial disaster when someones disposable income is low or non existent. All the while consumers try to out do one’s neighbor or friend for the “best” car…tv…house…etc. Pure madness! Financial institutions and corporations are loving it as year after year it gets worse…
rg9rts January 11th, 2015 at 11:48
He can forget EVER addressing congress.
Bunya January 12th, 2015 at 15:20
John Paul I was a closet radical who would have taken the church in a dramatically different direction than the two popes who followed him. There was concern that he was working to allow in vitro fertilization and the approval of the use of contraceptives. This was quite a liberal move for the time (1970’s) which is why in 1978, he had to be silenced.
Pope Francis, on the other hand, is living in a more progressive era. 98% of Catholic women use some sort of birth control, close to 28% of Catholics are divorced and over 50% of Americans approve of gay marriage. Outdated conservative dictum among practicing Catholics is slowly being replaced by more liberal/progressive views.
Pope Francis is a good man, and he talks a good game, but I don’t think he would actually move to allow very radical ideas such as gay marriage, contraceptive use, or abortions in the case of rape or child molestation.
rg9rts January 11th, 2015 at 12:48
He can forget EVER addressing congress…..a lot of conservative Catholics hate him too. I truly fear for his safety
Bunya January 12th, 2015 at 16:20
John Paul I was a closet radical who would have taken the church in a dramatically different direction than the two popes who followed him. There was concern that he was working to allow in vitro fertilization and the approval of the use of contraceptives. This was quite a liberal move for the time (1970’s) which is why in 1978, he had to be silenced.
Pope Francis, on the other hand, is living in a more progressive era. 98% of Catholic women use some sort of birth control, close to 28% of Catholics are divorced and over 50% of Americans approve of gay marriage. Outdated conservative dictum among practicing Catholics is slowly being replaced by more liberal/progressive views.
Pope Francis is a good man, and he talks a good game, but I don’t think he would actually move to allow very radical ideas such as gay marriage, contraceptive use, or abortions in the case of rape or child molestation.
StoneyCurtisll January 11th, 2015 at 13:58
I’m beginning to like this Pope more all the time…
StoneyCurtisll January 11th, 2015 at 14:58
I’m beginning to like this Pope more all the time…
tracey marie January 11th, 2015 at 14:00
Showing compassion, true love of family, helping those in need has become wrong and things to denigrate to the conservatives.
tracey marie January 11th, 2015 at 15:00
Showing compassion, true love of family, helping those in need has become wrong and things to denigrate to the conservatives.
Dwendt44 January 11th, 2015 at 14:29
Not that the wacky right needs anything more to hate that those thoughts, but Karl Marx did use the bible as one of his source books when formulating the early principles of communism.
burqa January 11th, 2015 at 17:14
There’s one verse in there about the early church sharing all things in common, but that’s about it. You’re missing the greater, overall goal of communism, which was not just an economic system, but a utopian attempt to remake society and to transfer the devotion people of faith had to the party. From the very beginning Lenin attacked the church and viewed it an a mortal enemy to be destroyed and soon after he took power he began rounding up clerics, throwing them in prison, looting churches and organizing propaganda campaigns in the press against the church. This was a pattern repeated in one country after the other that adopted communism.
Marx may have quoted the verse I referred to, but his ideas were founded upon many, many sources and we should not let one detail that is really insignificant, obscure the greater story of how communism regarded faith and how it responded to the church’s role in society.
Dwendt44 January 11th, 2015 at 15:29
Not that the wacky right needs anything more to hate that those thoughts, but Karl Marx did use the bible as one of his source books when formulating the early principles of communism.
burqa January 11th, 2015 at 18:14
There’s one verse in there about the early church sharing all things in common, but that’s about it. You’re missing the greater, overall goal of communism, which was not just an economic system, but a utopian attempt to remake society and to transfer the devotion people of faith had to the party. From the very beginning Lenin attacked the church and viewed it an a mortal enemy to be destroyed and soon after he took power he began rounding up clerics, throwing them in prison, looting churches and organizing propaganda campaigns in the press against the church. This was a pattern repeated in one country after the other that adopted communism.
Marx may have quoted the verse I referred to, but his ideas were founded upon many, many sources and we should not let one detail that is really insignificant, obscure the greater story of how communism regarded faith and how it responded to the church’s role in society.
Bunya January 11th, 2015 at 14:56
““The Gospel does not condemn the wealthy, but the idolatry of wealth…”
And who has more money than the Vatican? If they truly cared about doing the Lord’s work, they’d use some of that money they’re sitting on to feed the hungry, house the homeless and clothe the naked, instead of depending on their parishioners (who are elderly and on fixed incomes) to finance their work.
I like the way he talks, but I’ll have more respect for this pope once he renounces his riches and actually practices what he preaches.
burqa January 11th, 2015 at 17:01
I don’t know all the ins and outs of finance within the Catholic Church, but they do an extraordinary amount of charity work and deserve credit for it. The Catholic Church just doesn’t depend on parishioners, they have a whole organized system staffed by volunteers and church officials to help those in need.
I think if you’ll read up on how the Pope conducts himself, you’ll find he lives pretty frugally, thus earning the respect you spoke of at the end of your post.
Give it up.
Bunya January 11th, 2015 at 18:37
The Catholic church has VOLUNTEERS to do their charity work, and it’s the volunteers who deserve the credit. When the Catholic church starts ponying up some of the millions they’re sitting on , instead of depending on volunteers to do their work for them, maybe I’ll give them the credit you think they deserve.
burqa January 11th, 2015 at 20:18
Who do you think organizes them, provides buildings to store the goods they distribute, and provides other needed things to get the job done?
When Catholic charities ships goods, do you think VOLUNTEERS carry them on their backs across the country or overseas?
Again, you set a condition for giving respect for the Pope.
Why not do what you said you would and give him the credit you said you would?
You wanted him to practice what he preaches, how about doing the same?
Bunya January 11th, 2015 at 22:02
“Who do you think organizes them, provides buildings to store the goods
they distribute, and provides other needed things to get the job done?’
The volunteers. Where do you think the church gets it’s money?
allison1050 January 11th, 2015 at 20:38
But he does practice what he preaches Bunya that’s what makes him so fascinating.
Bunya January 11th, 2015 at 15:56
““The Gospel does not condemn the wealthy, but the idolatry of wealth…”
And who has more money than the Vatican? If they truly cared about doing the Lord’s work, they’d use some of that money they’re sitting on to feed the hungry, house the homeless and clothe the naked, instead of depending on their parishioners (who are elderly and on fixed incomes) to finance their work.
I like the way he talks, but I’ll have more respect for this pope once he renounces his riches and actually practices what he preaches.
burqa January 11th, 2015 at 18:01
I don’t know all the ins and outs of finance within the Catholic Church, but they do an extraordinary amount of charity work and deserve credit for it. The Catholic Church just doesn’t depend on parishioners, they have a whole organized system staffed by volunteers and church officials to help those in need.
I think if you’ll read up on how the Pope conducts himself, you’ll find he lives pretty frugally, thus earning the respect you spoke of at the end of your post.
Give it up.
Bunya January 11th, 2015 at 19:37
The Catholic church has VOLUNTEERS to do their charity work, and it’s the volunteers who deserve the credit. When the Catholic church starts ponying up some of the millions they’re sitting on , instead of depending on volunteers to do their work for them, maybe I’ll give them the credit you think they deserve.
burqa January 11th, 2015 at 21:18
Who do you think organizes them, provides buildings to store the goods they distribute, and provides other needed things to get the job done?
When Catholic charities ships goods, do you think VOLUNTEERS carry them on their backs across the country or overseas?
Again, you set a condition for giving respect for the Pope.
Why not do what you said you would and give him the credit you said you would?
You wanted him to practice what he preaches, how about doing the same?
Bunya January 11th, 2015 at 23:02
“Who do you think organizes them…”
The volunteers
“…provides buildings to store the goods the distribute…”
The volunteers
“…and provides other needed things to get the job done?”
The volunteers
The only thing the Catholic church provides is the fear of God and the threat of eternal damnation if people don’t do as they say.
“When Catholic charities ships goods, do you think VOLUNTEERS carry them on their backs across the country or overseas?”
Yes. The volunteers at Catholic charities. Where do you think the church gets its money? It comes from the parishioners. Where does any church get their money? They have no production costs because they are selling an invisible product.
The only thing the Catholic church provides is the fear of God and the threat of eternal damnation for people who don’t buy their “product”.
I should also mention that churches do get financial aid from the government, so yes, Atheists do help to support religious institutions.
allison1050 January 11th, 2015 at 21:38
But he does practice what he preaches Bunya that’s what makes him so fascinating.
Suzanne McFly January 11th, 2015 at 15:06
This Pope listens to the words of Jesus and not the “leaders” of the world, how will the church retain its billions if he keeps pissing off the powerful.
Suzanne McFly January 11th, 2015 at 16:06
This Pope listens to the words of Jesus and not the “leaders” of the world, how will the church retain its billions if he keeps pissing off the powerful.
Harvey Redgrandad Smith January 11th, 2015 at 15:19
“A ‘Touchstone’ Of Christianity, Not Communism”
LOL that’s funny , what is his stance on women reproductive rights and the history like the inquisitions an protecting nazis after WWII, He says the right things but lets wait for action like when are they going to sell of the property and billions in gold.
edmeyer_able January 11th, 2015 at 15:24
derp
Chinese Democracy January 11th, 2015 at 16:28
so anyway.. hes right ..it is A ‘Touchstone’ Of Christianity, Not Communism”
If u cut out all the references to the poor in the Bible. It would be like 2 pages heh.
I like a lot of things about this pope. Not sure he can single handedly go about righting the wrongs done 400 yrs ago. Like Slavery in America and the destruction of the native Americans. But I think hes a good Pope comparatively speaking.
oh and he does not live in the palatial ‘papal apartments’ he lives in a room that is usually reserved for visiting monks. And he rides around in an old car.
Hes not perfect . But Ill take any tiny step in the right direction I can get at this point .
burqa January 11th, 2015 at 16:57
Well said and I agree. We can’t expect others to agree with us on everything, but when we see things that are agreeable then it is good to be pleased with at least some common ground.
This Pope seems like a pretty good guy.
Harvey Redgrandad Smith January 11th, 2015 at 16:19
“A ‘Touchstone’ Of Christianity, Not Communism”
LOL that’s funny , what is his stance on women reproductive rights and the history like the inquisitions an protecting nazis after WWII, He says the right things but lets wait for action like when are they going to sell of the property and billions in gold.
edmeyer_able January 11th, 2015 at 16:24
derp
Chinese Democracy January 11th, 2015 at 17:28
so anyway.. hes right ..it is A ‘Touchstone’ Of Christianity, Not Communism”
If u cut out all the references to the poor in the Bible. It would be like 2 pages heh.
I like a lot of things about this pope. Not sure he can single handedly go about righting the wrongs done 400 yrs ago. Or even 200 yrs ago.. Like Slavery in America and the destruction of the native Americans. But I think hes a good Pope comparatively speaking.
oh and he does not live in the palatial ‘papal apartments’ he lives in a room that is usually reserved for visiting monks. And he rides around in an old car.
Hes not perfect . But Ill take any tiny step in the right direction I can get at this point .
burqa January 11th, 2015 at 17:57
Well said and I agree. We can’t expect others to agree with us on everything, but when we see things that are agreeable then it is good to be pleased with at least some common ground.
This Pope seems like a pretty good guy.