Latin American Catholic priests in general tend toward social and political
activism. It is sort of in the blood as the history there has often encompassed
repressive regimes and priests were among those who struggled against them.
Historically, many in the clergy became outright activists, and this
sometimes led them toward socialist and Marxists leanings. Rebel movements
often became Communist in nature or even in membership and priests were often
directly involved, sometimes as members. All of that, throughout the post World
War II era and perhaps a bit before is now woven in the fabric of South and
Central America and even up into Mexico. One remembers the classic scene during
Saint John Paul II's South American visit when a known activist priest knelt
before him seeking a spur of the moment blessing request perhaps. I don't
remember if the blessing was imparted, but the priest did receive an
admonishment replete with a pope's wagging finger.
The point is that social (and unavoidably attached 'political') activism is
in the Catholic clergy from south of the border (in reference to the U.S.A.).
Interest in such issues is in all of us, all humans; but, as Christians, if we
are taught and asked to be in this world but not too much of this world, then
shouldn't our shepherds set the example. Shouldn't the head shepherd set the
best example.
We currently have a good, sensitive, loving, Christian man in the role of
pope, one of the best perhaps the world had to offer during the selection time.
Yet he has unnerved conservative Catholics with his support of the Climate
change movement. His fans have explained to me that he is just taking the
Christian position that we are stewards of the earth. He has; and we are. Yet
he has seemed very supporting of the actual Climate Change political movement
that has been pretty clearly identified with efforts to redistribute wealth
from successful nations to poorer ones through economic penalties. Actual
outright intentionally erroneous data has joined the often flawed data that
supports that cause.
Similarly and particularly grating was the mass performed at the U.S.
border, apparently to send some message about illegal immigrants coming into
the United States. It is more than an issue of the poor, and I do not need to
reiterate all of that here. Clearly some in the Catholic Church are not fond of
borders, which is curious as 'one world' seems to harken to the one world order
type of scenario of the more negative aspects of the End Times. I was not aware
we supposed to try to rush those events. More ominous, with respect to this
issue, is the underreported issue of an activist movement to fill the American
Southwest with enough immigrants (legal or otherwise) to force (through sheer
numbers) the return of the land to Mexico. [On an aside to this article, that
issue necessitates a strong, conservative, nationalistic American government
now and in the forecastable future.]
Up until now, the two issues mentioned just above have been the only things
that bothered me about this pope. His support of distributism is not socialist,
as that economic principle supports capitalistic entrepreneurship on small
local levels within the concept of subsidiarity, more local (even familial)
control.
These recent comments about combating the Zika virus with contraception,
however casual, small, and seemingly innocent, are also apparently in direct
opposition to clear, unchangeable Catholic doctrine. It seems that on at least
some small level we have a somewhat liberal pope.
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