In an article I first thought must be a parody of right-wing anti-Catholicism, Forbes contributor and professed Catholic Steve Moore accuses Pope Francis of aligning himself with the far left, with a secular movement that’s “antithetical to the fundamental theological underpinning of Catholicism,” with Marxist economic thought, with climate change fanatics, and with radical modern pagan green religion. With a statement that’s almost too stupid to be heretical, he concludes that “Francis should be a saver of souls. Free people and free enterprise should be left to save whatever ails the planet.”
For a guy who says that Pope Francis isn’t preaching Catholicism, Mr. Moore sure reveres free market capitalism–our earthy savior, he basically calls it. He apparently wants a Church that focuses exclusively on the spiritual aspects of the human condition with no care for economic and environmental justice. Unless, of course, the pope wants to help champion anti-statist measures and sing the glories and praises of saintly capitalists. Oh, he’s welcome to do that. I guess that’s fine if that’s what Moore wants, but his preferred religion isn’t Catholicism, and his ignorance of Catholic social doctrine is simply astounding. The Church hasn’t flat out condemned capitalism, but it sure has a long history of criticizing it. And as for his idea that Pope Francis has been “snookered” by environmentalists, Moore should again do his homework. It’s not like previous popes have been silent on environmental justice!
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