After the appointment of Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Pope Francis, one would naturally think that most Argentineans would be happy that one of their own was now the head of one of the largest religions in the world. But not so if you’re a member or supporter of a Far Left government, such as is in control of Argentina today.
Looking back at history, the Catholic Church has always been on the enemies list of Far Left governments. Such was the case with Pope John Paul II, who the Polish people loved, but who was hated by the communist government in power there at the time.
Socialist governments don’t like competition for their authority, not even at the spiritual level.
Why do priests alone seem to bear the blame for not opposing dictators? Perhaps they are simply rendering unto Caesar that which is Caesars. Why are people shocked when priests obey the Bible?
If they hate him he’s the right man for the job.
Not sure why the left hates the Catholic Church because there is no religious institution on the planet that is more left leaning than the Catholic Church.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.
Psalm 23:4,5
(And this is what really annoys the statists; that there is a spiritual authority which exists outside of governmental authority. Invariably, government hates competition for authority and allegience).
What really drives the statists to distraction is that they haven’t yet managed to command fealty of the soul to bow to the state. But of course it’s all mere dragon’s breath and drivel…as most understand that governments need to be limited because they invariably overstep their bounds.
Tellingly, from the second article:
‘For them, the new pope remains a meddlesome priest. In the slums where the populist Mrs. Kirchner claims to be a champion of the poor, Francis is truly beloved because he lives the gospel. From the pulpit, with the Kirchners in the pews, he famously complained of self-absorbed politicians. He didn’t name names, but the shoe fit. Nestór Kirchner, the late president and Cristina’s husband, responded by naming him “the head of the opposition.”
As Ms. Fernández Meijide observed last week, “I have the impression that what bothers the current president is that Bergoglio would not get in line, that he denounces the continuation of extreme poverty.” That’s not the regime’s approved narrative.’
Oh goodness Pope Francis won’t be a secular pushover…!
Cheers
Hans Rupprecht, Commander in Chief
1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group “True North”
Charity is the responsibility of the state.
Charity is the responsiblity of the individual.
First example is how the left takes advantage of the situation.
Second example is what the church teaches.
Any questions?
I confess that, until today, I had no feeling one way or the other about the new Pope. But then I read this statement in the article:
“In this case they [the Kirchner regime’s terrorist associates] allege that as the Jesuits’ provincial superior in Argentina in the late 1970s, then-Father Bergoglio had links to the military government.”
So, that’s all you got?
Aside from the usual brutal things plain vanilla military juntas do, the Argentinian junta was known for only one thing in particular: invading the Falkland Islands. And, aside from the usual brutal things plain vanilla Marxist regimes do, the Kirchner government is also known for only one thing in particular: wanting to invade the Falkland Islands. Credulous “pot calling the kettle black” hypocrisy just makes me mad, particularly where English-speaking island democracies are concerned.
In light of that, I hope that Pope Francis has the same impact on Western Hemispheric communists (of both the quasi- and qenuine variety) as Pope John Paul II had on their European counterparts. And if that motive, in whole or in part, presaged the Roman Catholic Church’s choice, then, IMO, that choice was inspired. I’d say he’s off to good start.
comment “there is no religious institution on the planet that is more left leaning than the Catholic Church.”
Sometimes, but not always, true.
From the second link, “None of this matters to those trying to turn Argentina into the next Venezuela. What embitters them is that Father Bergoglio believed that Marxism (and the related “liberation theology”) was antithetical to Christianity and refused to embrace it in the 1970s. That put him in the way of those inside the Jesuit order at the time who believed in revolution.”
I’m beginning to like the guy.
yuppers, MOST cathlicks are lefties, fact most kristians are lefties!!!!
and David Southam, the Argintine Junta was best know for making over 40,000 people disappear, used to give those they didn’t like (marxists and other assorted lefties) helo rides over the atlantic and then kick them out at 5-6000 feet above water, try keeping up would U?
This is so not surprising. Given his opposition to same sex marriage I’m sure there will be a human rights complaint launched against him should he ever set foot in Canada
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/03/argentine-jorge-mario-bergoglio-is-new-pope/
As a Catholic, I can tell you some, but not “most” of us are lefties (I’m certainly not). So are some Protestants, some Jews, some agnostics/atheists. The Catholic Church isn’t right or left (that’s our culture projecting our left/right politics onto everything). It simply is Catholic.
If the Catholic Church was “leftist” — can anyone explain to me what the media and the left hate us? Why they actively pursue laws, like the HHS mandate, that specifically punish the Catholic Church? Why do they do things to Catholics in the way of slander, protest, and attacks that they’d never do to other religious denominations (especially Islam)? Must be all that liberal street cred we’ve got! /sarcasm
There is no logical reason why Catholics would support Communism/socialism, since religious persons suffer the most under such regimes. We — and our values — are a threat to the gigantic Nanny State. Especially our emphasis on the family, healthy sexuality, charity, etc.
Now, Pope Francis is a Jesuit. Theologically, he is orthodox. But liturgically, he’s a Jesuit. I’m okay with that.
But he just let Mugabe visit ………I mean, c’mon.
Scruples? Should have told to go back to his hellhole.
“Aside from the usual brutal things plain vanilla military juntas do…”
To your point, I knew that, actually (the number at least, if not the specific technique(s) employed). And despite the self-righteous outrage of the left, I just don’t see much in the way of a moral distinction between the Latin American authoritarian pathologies, Leftist or Fascist.
And I’m certain that when the sordid history of the Kirchner interlude is written, we’ll find that the (probably more numerous, if history is predictive) expropriation victims among the productive elements of Argentinian society may well not then have been dropped from helicopters into the Atlantic, but they’ll at least have been put in small boats and sent on their way, Vietnamese-style. Or, whatever (involuntary migration, Stalinist, Maoist or Pol Potian methodology — your choice).
Besides which, Pope Francis’s alignment with the Galtieri regime is persuasively contested in the article, which is the least that can be said and assumes one can ascribe merit to the statements of left-wing terrorists.
Did you bust whichever hand it is you type with? I only ask because reading your badly written drivel is like trudging through deep mud.
Nominal Catholics (let’s make that distinction clear) are indeed leftist for they do not know or care to know the Biblical aspects of charity. Jesus called their number ages ago when He pointed out what hypocrites do and how believers should not emulate them.
All the popular press needed was a name to a face. One can imagine the kind of vitriol that would be hurled at Oulette had he been elected (for example).
One should read “The Sword and the Shield” if one wishes to know how badly John Paul II scared the crap out of the Politburo.
Imagine that. The lefties don’t want the Pope to be Catholic.
The fact that the WSJ thinks so highly of Bengoglio, and their readers busy bleeding Greece to death, ought to be sufficient reason to only trust him as far as you can kick the Pope of Rome.
Of course Bengoglio kissed the appropriate rings during the junta’s day. The term used by Francis’ Muslim brothers is “taqiyya,” lying to save your own or a co-religionist’s hide. In reality, he worked overtime to help communist priests escape Argentine justice, and no longer bothers hiding the fact.
Bengoglio was suffered to oppose gay marriage the same way a few East German “Christian Democrats” were suffered to vote against the GDR’s abortion law for appearances’ sake. Back in reality, Señora Kirchner will attend the inaugural Mass tomorrow, joined by Joe Biden, and is unlikely to stand and denounce the enemy of her nation styling himself Pope Francis.
Their public spat is pantomime to convince the gullible among their followers that the extreme left and the Roman Church are not in fact merely different storefronts of the same infernal enterprise.
The self-styled Society of Jesus, in particular, of which Bengoglio is the first member to become Pope, was founded to enforce the Counter-Reformation. Today it is hated and feared even by many Catholics for its penchant for collaborating with the left and the enemies of Western civilization. Forget the liberation theology gang in Latin America—we have Jesuits to thank for the indoctrination of both Rene Levesque and Pierre Elliott Trudeau, and for inspiring them to devote their lives to destroying the Dominion and replacing it with a Catholic republic to be governed by Jesuits and their students however they thought best.
My God, Dick, reading your stuff is like reading some Islamofascist paranoid tract on how the world is against the ummah but you throw in a lot of Protestant catch-words that really do belong in the seventeenth century.
Would you like to prove the accusations against this current successor of Saint Peter whom Christ appointed the head of His Church? No? Why not? I thought the author did a fantastic job of disproving the muck against him but I guess you lived in Argentina during the Seventies and know something we don’t. How do Ulstermen spell taqqiya? Is there an extra Q in there? Remind me again which head of state and head of the Anglican church (founded by a man who either divorced or killed his wives) approved of gay “marriage” which irks you no end?
See you at Mass.
By the way, Luther and Henry VIII reformed nothing making the Reformation a rather useless term.
Rabbit, exactly.
WalterF, me too and I’m not Catholic. You mention “liberation theology”. Liberation theology is the modern day equivalent of Lenin’s “Living Church”, that was created by organized Soviet atheism in late March 1922 to divide and subvert the Orthodox Church. Reform minded clergy were pitted against the conservative establishment. The Living Church was controlled by the Cheka/NKVD until the early 1930s when Stalin did not need it any longer and arrested the leadership. The same tactics were used against the Jewish community and other churches. This “divide et impera” strategy was and still is standard Bolshevik/Communist/Social Democrat tactic and is in use today. We can see it in the Anglican, United, Lutheran churches, in fact all churches including even some evangelical churches.
Richard Pipes has a whole chapter, “The Assault on Religion” in his book “Russia Under The Bolshevik Regime”.
realy now, nominal catholics???spanish, portugese, irish, italians, germans, french, all of central and south america, populated with catholics and so mfar left they damn near fall off the edge, if you don’t like facts, don’t read. Also most catholics in the rest of europe are, lefties, and then there is africa, also left as hell. Just because there are SOME (and possibly a majority of) right wing catholics in USA and canada, that does not equate into a world wide majority!!!
now back to yer nominal, who made you U judge, the catholic god??????
and yer comment about my writing skills, very left of U, and it shows your ignorance to anything even slightly foreighn to your worldly ways. So try reading up about DYSLEXIA U jackass
The main pissing and moaning on the left seems to be that he didn’t
burn up what political capital he had with the junta trying to save
the most extreme members of the liberation theology crowd who hated
him with a passion. If that’s their best shot, they got nothing.
I’m sorry. I still don’t understand you. Some blather about not being able to distinguish between people who say they are Catholics and true believers, not being able to do any research yourself or use spell check. And, wow, bitter much? I only ask because of the blanket aspersions and the dripping condescension.
Just try again.
30 Years War anyone ? Jesuits and the Inquisition,burning at the Stake.Purgatory 4u.
Hey, why not just bring up the Crusades for all your cherry-picking needs?
I’m not a RC although I do trace my theological roots back through the Roman Catholic tradition. My ancestors joined the renewal that came to be known as the Anabaptist movement around the time of the Napoleonic wars. However my theological disagreements with the RCC do not mean that I have to hate the RCC. In fact I hope only for the best of a sister church that like every other Christian Church in the world has been tasked with proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. From what I have read and heard of Pope Francis is encouraging. For too long Christian Churches have been hiding their lights under bushel baskets by not explaining the Faith. According to Pope Francis he wants to rectify that oversight. As a fellow Christian I applaud his efforts.
Oh and one reason the left is so against the Christian/Catholic Church is because the Church has a Divine Orthodoxy and refuses to bow its knee to the leftist satanic orthodoxy. Darkness hates the Light and all that you know.
I don’t get why some people are trying to defend the far-left leanings of the Catholic Church. Never have I been more disgusted by a voting demographic- Obama crushed Romney thanks to the white Catholic vote in the Northeast and Hispanic vote in the SW and Florida. The typical Catholic claims to be pro-life and anti gay marriage, yet when push comes to shove, they vote for the selfish comforts provided by big government and socialism.
Don’t think that nobody else is watching you mark a big fat ‘X’ next to the liberal candidate’s name on your ballots, Catholics. I assure you that God is watching you vote for the destruction of the institution of marriage and unborn children.
(And yes, I am not putting all Catholics, especially the ones that post on this site, in this category. I am not trying to say that every Catholic is a liberal. But the vast majority of them are, and if they claim to be socially conservative, what exactly is so appealing to the typical Catholic with regards to leftist economics that is forcing them to put their strong social beliefs in the rear view mirror?)
Rob, it is called an addiction to the entitlement mentality. A weakness almost all humans and animals can become addicted to.
We are seeing the pope from western/anglo eyes.
He’s hispanic. That means he is warm and sweet and can be humble. But he will have a spine of steel. Count on it.
And likely, as many Spaniards and hispanics, a mystic.
http://themoynihanletters.com/from-the-desk-of/letter-51-mystical-experience
The Catholic church per se is not left leaning….the western European and North American population/clergy does appear to express itself in this manner however.
But the rest of the catholic world is not…not in the way we in the west think of it.
I’m not Catholic (but my family linage sure is) and as far as religion goes I’m not really anything, but there is one thing that bothered me a lot it was the mass media’s hysteria that its time and the need to choose a ‘progressive pope’
So if Pope Francis is indeed Conservative that’s a okay for me. Just as long as he doesn’t try to convert me or decree that I should be killed for being an infidel I can get along.
I’m not Catholic but quite pleased with this guy. He’s a Jesuit (the first) and should be a tough nut.
1. Always “interesting” to read how things look from the Dick Slater perspective! Tell me, Mr Slater, what color is the sky in your world?
2. The Catholic Church isn’t “leftist” and neither is Christianity, despite attempts by many (including Christians themselves to pidgeon-hole faith into a political box). Lefties always attempt to paint Christ as some sort of paleo-socialist; he was no such thing. And I offer no comfort to the right end of the political spectrum either: Jesus Christ was thoroughly unconcerned with conservative pieties.
3. The attempt by the hopeless Kirchner administration to co-opt the Pope on the Falklands issue because he is an Argentine is despicable but predictable. There’s no small irony that a two-faced Argentinian government – the same secular-minded government that has previously pilloried the Catholic Church in Argentina – would now seek to gain advantage from it.
Also, while we’re on the subject of Argentina and the Far Left, notice how the focus is always on the military junta when people look back on those bad old days?
There are two parts to this story: one is the actions of the military regime of the day but the other is the actions of the Argentinian Far Left. A pox on both their houses!
Why would a single Falkland Islander ever want to hitch their wagon to such a treacherous state?*
* Old Argentinian proverb loosely translated: “God puts right by night what the Argentinians screw up by day.”
You are correct JJM Christianity is neither left nor right. It is neither liberal nor conservative. Christianity is something the conservative/libertarian movement lacks – ORTHODOXY! In other words it, unlike most of the conservative/libertarian movement, has standards apart from being “against the progressives” or “for anarchy”. It deals with the human condition on levels and in ways that are completely foreign to those who are not Christian.
So now, the Argie president want the Pope to interfere in the Falklands dispute.
WTF? The Holy Roman Empire proved it’s not a good idea to muddle church and state.
Besides, didn’t the Falklands residents vote 98.5% in favour of staying with Great Britain?
I just gave CBC and CNN a little bait:
185 miles SSW of San Luis, up in the pampas, there is an old talking llama that used to haul altar boys around a poor rural parish where Fr. Jorge Mario Bergoglio was the priest.
And, for a little bit of tick removal and a good arse-scratchin’ that llama just might be persuaded to spill the beans on Pope Francis.
Journalism, it’s such a dirty job….
When has Christianity not faced the implacable opposition of the far left?