Earlier this month, Pope Francis gave a speech to some United Nations officials and said, among other things, that an “equal” form of economic progress can come from “legitimate redistribution of economic benefits by the state.” The media and the liberals have pounced all over this and reworded it to be “redistribution of wealth,” which is more palatable to their agenda. Note the very first paragraph in the AP story below, in which they reword his remarks before even quoting what he said.
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis called Friday for governments to redistribute wealth and benefits to the poor in a new spirit of generosity to help curb the “economy of exclusion” that is taking hold today.
Francis made the appeal during a speech to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the heads of major U.N. agencies who met in Rome this week.
Latin America’s first pope has frequently lashed out at the injustices of capitalism and the global economic system. On Friday, Francis called for the United Nations to promote a “worldwide ethical mobilization” of solidarity with the poor.
He said a more equal form of economic progress can be had through “the legitimate redistribution of economic benefits by the state, as well as indispensable cooperation between the private sector and civil society.”
Francis urged the U.N. to promote development goals that attack the root causes of poverty and hunger, protect the environment and ensure dignified labor for all.
It should be no surprise that leftists have trumpeted this reworded phrase – redistribution of wealth – as having the blessings of the Pope and therefore, legitimizing the confiscatory policies of the Democrats. After reading many opinion pieces and the comments that follow them, it is laughable to me that the very people who reject Christianity and the Bible now seize upon a remark by the Pope and use that to try to tell Christians how to be Christ like. Oh, but you can bet they still reject the Pope’s views on abortion.
Christians should absolutely practice charity, as we are commanded to do so in the Bible. But there is a huge difference between charity and confiscation. Redistribution by the state can only come after compulsory confiscation through tax policy, with failure to comply resulting in jail and other penalties. This is hardly charity. But, to leftists, this is their religion – Statism. They reject God and worship the state as their one true god. True charity is given freely and is practiced without compulsion or threats of penalty for noncompliance. The only redistribution spoken of in the Bible is done on an individual basis and never involves the state. It is proof that liberals do not understand Christianity or the Bible when they quote verses espousing charity and giving property to the poor as justification for their redistribution policies and their claims that true Christians would never be against helping the poor. True Christians are definitely not against helping the poor, but the state should not be involved in charity. When the state is involved, it is no longer charity, but confiscation. And I would add that the higher taxes get, the more the state is robbing people of their ability to be charitable by taking money from them that could have been used to help the poor. I have always believed that private charity is better able to help the poor than the government. The government always takes a large piece of the pie and the amount of money that actually makes it to the poor is very small compared to what private charity could do. I would further add that the definition of the word ‘poor’ would, no doubt, be different for leftists and Christians.
But, back to the Pope. While his statement was hijacked and reworded by the left to suit their purpose, his original quote – “legitimate redistribution of economic benefits” – has a ring of anti-capitalism. From all I have read of the Pope, he is a champion for the poor. But calling for the state to redistribute anything related to the economy is a Marxist concept. For the record, I am not a Catholic and I do not subscribe to the belief that the Pope is infallible. With his statement, Pope Francis did damage to what is true Christian charity by calling for the state to redistribute economic benefits. Does his statement make him a Marxist? I would not label him as such for this one statement, but I would definitely say state redistribution of economic benefits is Marxist. I would challenge anyone to show me any passage in the Bible that supports confiscation and redistribution by the state. Let me help you – it isn’t there. Where you will find it is in the Communist Manifesto. But since that is the left’s bible, that makes redistribution of wealth part of their religion. With his statement, the Pope seems to be advocating for the left’s religion, rather than the true charity of Christianity.
The Pope may not be a Marxist, but he certainly espouses some of the principles of that failed political and social philosophy. Taking the path he suggests is a dangerous thing to do, with consequences far beyond what many people would admit or even believe.
Concerning Christian charity, that act is given far too few compliments for what it has accomplished. It can do much more than the government and it does it with gifts freely given, not confiscated. It can work much more efficiently because it doesn’t have the constraints that seem to be necessarily present in a government bureaucracy.
Failed? Ah, but Larry, just yesterday a Democrat Congressman from Florida said they’ve proven that communism works! I’m sure he’s credible and not off his meds…
Christian charity will always be denigrated by the left, for the reason I believe to be it’s tenets are rooted in Christianity rather than government. The left as a whole despises Christianity and would never admit that Christian charity practiced individually or by private organizations could be more effective than the state. Additionally, as I alluded to in my post, the ‘poor’ that the left wants to help are not always actually poor. By helping those they deem to be ‘poor’ the left is also buying their votes, which is something true Christian charity would never seek to do. I suppose I’m saying that the left’s idea of charity and true Christian charity both have distinctly different goals. The left wants to subjugate with their ‘help’ and the Christian wants to truly help and show genuine compassion.
Like my friend LD, I cannot say whether Pope Francis is a Marxist. But he is a believer in social justice—as most Catholics and many Protestants are. In this, he is very wrong. God expects us to take care of the less fortunate, and we can do this individually, or through community chests. In fact, charity may be the key that opens the door to Heaven. However, government redistribution of wealth is sanctioned robbery —and I do not believe this is what God had in mind. I do not think the state has a right to interfere with my salvation. Like you, I think the leftists have seized upon the Pope’s statement; as he has not had the job very long, he is on a learning curve. As with the Fed Chairman, the Holy Father needs to watch what he says.
I don’t believe the Pope is a Marxist, but he is certainly misguided. He most definitely needs to watch what he says, for the left will obviously seize any statement they can to use in support of their own Marxist ideals.