The Castro brothers were educated by the Jesuits in Cuba who, like the current pope, espoused an unmitigated, ignorant hatred of free markets (“the dung of the devil” according to the pope), condemning them as the worst of sins and the source of all the world’s problems. (The current pope even blames the invasion of Europe by Muslim peasants on too much economic freedom in Syria).
With this educational background, the Castro brothers went on to become thugs, murderers, terrorists, and ultimately, totalitarian communist dictators. So it was no surprise at all to me to read in the Wall Street Journal last week that Raul Castro declared that he really, really likes what the pope has been saying about capitalism, so much so that he might “start praying again” and rejoin the church. This love affair between the Castro brothers and the Argentinian Marxist in the Vatican will be repeated this week when he meets with fellow commies Bernie Sanders, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and the rest of the squalid D.C. establishment.
And Lew Rockwell adds:
I long for the old days, when Popes stayed in the Vatican and ran the Church, rather than traveling abroad, seeking the approbation of the world and its thieving, murdering presidents.
Lew Rockwell is awesome, but I have to ask: At what point did Popes "stay in the Vatican and run the Church?" The Church has been about power for most of its existence -- either directly, or by using the fear of God to direct empires politically. At least this Pope doesn't have the power of The Inquisition.
ReplyDeleteI believe Lew Rockwell may have been employing hyperbole, which is a totally legitimate practice when writing or speaking.
DeleteIf you read Murray Rothbard's An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought, you would have a less negative opinion of the Church.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe Lew was using hyperbole. The Pope is the bishop of Rome, and as such has the distinction of being the successor of St Peter, who had a distinct role to play among the apostles, as the Pope does now among all bishops. His being a head of state is a rather unfortunate vestige of the twists of history, not a vital part of his role in the Church. It is quite possible for the Pope to no longer be a head of state, and it is not at all necessary to his role to travel the world. Most popes prior to the late 20th century rarely left Rome. As a cradle Catholic, I entirely agree with what Lew said in their most simple interpretation.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing that Dwight. It's certainly reasonable to believe. I stand corrected.
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