Rostrum: Pope Francis Edition
Pope Francis has angered conservative right-wing nutjobs and confused his own Catholic peers after lashing out at people’s obsession with wealth and material possessions.
Pope Francis has this week released a 224-page policy statement condemning as “tyranny” unfettered capitalism and greed, and encouraged the wealthy to take care of the poor. The Pope loaded his “Evangelii Gaudium” with biblical quotes, lest anyone thing he was redefining Catholicism.
Pope Francis wrote that “some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world.”
“This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system,” the Pope writes.
“Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting. To sustain a lifestyle which excludes others, or to sustain enthusiasm for that selfish ideal, a globalization of indifference has developed. Almost without being aware of it, we end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else’s responsibility and not our own.”
“The culture of prosperity deadens us; we are thrilled if the market offers us something new to purchase; and in the meantime all those lives stunted for lack of opportunity seem a mere spectacle; they fail to move us.”
“No to an economy of exclusion,” “No to the new idolatry of money,” “No to a financial system which rules rather than serves,” and “No to the inequality which spawns violence.”
A deeper reading into the text reveals even stronger statements. For example, Pope Francis mentions the poor more than 80 times.
“I encourage financial experts and political leaders to ponder the words of one of the sages of antiquity: ‘Not to share one’s wealth with the poor is to steal from them and to take away their livelihood. It is not our own goods which we hold, but theirs.’”
Francis calls for “an ethical approach which favours human beings,” and insists “that the rich must help, respect and promote the poor.”
He finds the “current financial crisis…originated in a profound human crisis: the denial of the primacy of the human person!”
And the Pope blasted conspicuous consumption.
“Today’s economic mechanisms promote inordinate consumption, yet it is evident that unbridled consumerism combined with inequality proves doubly damaging to the social fabric.”
“Inequality eventually engenders a violence which recourse to arms cannot and never will be able to resolve. This serves only to offer false hopes to those clamouring for heightened security, even though nowadays we know that weapons and violence, rather than providing solutions, create new and more serious conflicts.”
“Some simply content themselves with blaming the poor and the poorer countries themselves for their troubles; indulging in unwarranted generalizations, they claim that the solution is an “education” that would tranquilize them, making them tame and harmless.”
“All this becomes even more exasperating for the marginalized in the light of the widespread and deeply rooted corruption found in many countries – in their governments, businesses and institutions – whatever the political ideology of their leaders.”
Pope Francis’ words would put a chill in those religious institutions and especially the “mega-churches” that preach the message that god wants people to be wealthy.
So, naturally of course, Republicans and the happy-clappy mob at Hillsong are apoplectic — because their real God isn’t Jesus, it’s money.
theguttertrash.com 
What???? Bring me my camels, bring me my eyes of needles! We’ll show that bastard a thing or two!
The Board of Morgan Stanley.
The so called pope is an antichrist, make no mistake about it.
I thought the antichrist comes from the east?
Well Argentina is East of Australia
How amusement! Coalition’s fraudband policy revealed as a complete dud by its own department: http://goo.gl/bV97dv
Friday Funny
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/straight-men-to-have-casual-sex-with-each-other-2013112881537
The Baby Boomers had their chance to create the society into which they wanted to retire and they dropped the ball. They don’t deserve our help, writes Mark Fletcher….
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/11/29/comment-will-you-still-employ-me-when-i-m-64
What’s the catholic church coming to, if this so called leader is running the place.
The commie should go back to Russia.
From reb’s link.
‘A better, more sophisticated, approach is to work out what sort of society we (that is, people under the age of 35) want for our retirement and then set the policy gears now to achieve it. Do we want a society of lifelong learning?’
Yes and coupled with that a retirement age which reflects the health and well being of society.
Finally got some independent figures on boat people from Andrew Bolt.
‘Under Abbott, 207 boat people in November. Under Gillard, 2630 boat people last November.’
guffaw
“Finally got some independent figures…from Andrew Bolt.”
You really are a funny cunt sometimes egg.
Not bad for a straight man.
Anyone else check out that loopy christianspook website? 😯
bwahahahahahahahaha…hahahahaha…uuurgh
I bet he/she/it thinks it really is an authority on how to be a true follower of the only true celestial privacy invader.
Relligion…empowering self-centric interpretations of ‘My God’s Appendage Is Bigger Than Your God’s Appendage’ for thousands of years!
I love that the new pope is pissing off other nutjobs…& probably a lot of his own denomination frankly.
All he is doing to achieve this is trying to put a bit of a moderate slant on Roman Catholicism, presumably so it sells itself a little better. Smoothing over the cracks in the edifice left behind by decades of complicity in obscuring the magnitude of clerical child abuse.
Go Francis!!! Keep upsetting the other godfearing crackpots & spooks! Way to go! Keep picking at the fabric of your centuries old institution! Conservative religious types love that sort of stuff!
I may be your only fan…& I laugh at the very idea of your god even existing!
* Religion
I should say that his message above (in reb’s post) seems admirable enough. Fans of the jeebus usually make a bit of a fuss out of him supposedly having represented such ideals.
‘Pope Francis’ words would put a chill in those religious institutions and especially the “mega-churches” that preach the message that god wants people to be wealthy.’
The born again mob and Anglicans couldn’t care less what the pope thinks.
“The born again mob and Anglicans couldn’t care less what the pope thinks.”
You mean christians hate each other..? Or at the very least, don’t tolerate each other’s “idiosyncrasies” particularly well….
And yet they expect “non-believers” to subscribe to their fucked up fairy tale fantasies…?
Heck, if they can’t even get their own ducks lined up in a row, why should they expect anyone else to take them seriously…. 🙄
I think there’s not much funnier than one stripe of jesusfreak calling the earthly boss of some different striped jesusfreaks the ‘antichrist’ (wooooooo…eeeeevil!).
That website is also hilarious. Talk about taking your fantasy friend waaaaaaay too seriously…to the point of anger & hatred for other people’s fantasy friends.
I find great entertainment in deliberately not taking them/it seriously. The more addled, invested ones aren’t very tolerant of being ridiculed.
There is only one true religion, Football.
Soccer is not football. Andrew Demitriou, however, is the Antichrist.
Belief in a deity is shallow thinking, considering there are 8.2 billion planets in the Milky Way which could sustain life.
“You really are a funny cunt sometimes egg.”
And prolific.
Hard to argue with IPA @ 9:36 pm
‘And prolific.’
chuckle
Are you lot taking the piss here or what?
Is the pope taking the piss?
I need to take a piss?
🙄
Back to the womb.
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/science-technology/call-for-all-buildings-to-look-like-vaginas-2013112981577
Only dog bothering frustrated types would come up with this.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/11/christian-science-church-penis_n_4254511.html
It’s interesting that so many of those who managed to excuse the increasingly cruel policies on asylum seekers under Gillard have now, with a change of government, found voice again to argue for decent humanitarian policy.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hypocrite
The antichrist is only a state of mind.
‘Opinion polls now indicate more than 50 percent of the American people believe there is an extraterrestrial presence and more than 80 percent believe the government is not telling the truth about this phenomenon.’
‘Prime Minister Tony Abbott will be our guest on tomorrow’s Bolt Report. Also on this show: Peter Costello and Michael Costa.
‘And, using very short words, I will explain something to Paul Barry – and match his dare.’
The Bolter
“It’s interesting that so many of those who managed to excuse the increasingly cruel policies on asylum seekers under Gillard have now, with a change of government, found voice again to argue for decent humanitarian policy.”
Is it ‘interesting’? or is it typically partisan dissonant cognition?
Does it in fact put into perspective the motives & credibility of message of the tragically politically aligned?
I don’t even need to look through the keyhole to answer such questions. I suspect your comment was rhetorical, YomM.
To their shame. You have maintained a much more consistent stance over the duration. Not that that posthumous concession will ever be acknowledged by the adherents.
I was kinda hoping that the christianspectre would come back & engage in an argument.
Defending the unsubstantiable with lunatic literal interpretations of a selected version of the book of fables. Pointing me towards hell..where I’d presumably come under the tutelage of The Infernal Pope Francis.
Honestly, I was looking forward to pillorying the admonitions.
Soooooo…the new government has been ably soiling its brand in recent days. Whodathunkit.
I personally enjoy Pyne’s sequential denials of things he & Abbott committed to the documentary record mere months ago…with a straight face, indeed with a degree of arrogant, dismissive petulance (the denials that is, not the initial forked tongue promises…those were projected with earnest insincerity).
I’m not sure how old Pyne is, but he gives all the appearances of his nuts not having dropped yet.
Even Bolt’s having a hard time maintaining disciplined formation in the face of Pyne’s explicit defecations upon easily verifiable (mis)truths.
“The antichrist is only a state of mind.”
Yes, in pre-schoolers that ‘state of mind’ is synonymous with bedwetting about the boogeyman & knicker-spritzing in anticipation of Father Xmas.
‘Honestly, I was looking forward to pillorying the admonitions.’
For the sake of argument I’ll play devil’s advocate. This present pope was born in Rome, this makes him an outstanding candidate for the position of antichrist.
”Does it in fact put into perspective the motives & credibility of message of the tragically politically aligned?”
It’s certainly a lot more straight forward to discuss actual policy and outcomes, rather than have to justify the partisan hypocrisy that emanates from either side, particularly on asylum seekers.
It really is revolting to hear Gillard, Abbott, Morrison etc go through their contortions of logic to try to justify their politically expedient racism on the basis of humanitarianism.
Same applies to those that have self selected out of this site.
Somebody on the internet looking for an argument. Will wonders never cease. 😯
Toilet is writing up a tome as we speak.
http://xkcd.com/386/
The other thing is that the antichrist is reckoned to be charming and Francis is that.
Hey…I ain’t the one posting numerous insane, hateful video clips on this thread in an attempt to sway you impressionable lapsed Catholics into thinking God’s Representative On Earth is actually Satan’s Right Hand.
Besides which, none of you ever want to attempt to defend the nonsense fundamentals of theism. 😦 I’m sure you actually have very compelling arguments which prove me wrong. cough
I’ve mentioned a few times over the last few months that I think the new pontiff is progressive (as much as one may be). It amuses me…and I expect a push back against it from religious conservative types, which poses the question…How Dare They Question The Infallible Word Of God’s Own Earthly Representative?!
I actually support a lot of the new pope’s message.
I imagine IPA is at loggerheads with his criticism of trickle down, for instance. But…How Dare IPA Question The Infallible Word Of God’s Own Earthly Representative?!
See how that works? I can’t lose. 😆
I don’t write up ‘tomes’.
Christianspectre was just spamming you impressionables, anyhow.
http://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1961/10/25/
At the moment the antichrist is persona non grata (sic), but its rumoured that he has Jewish blood and is probably gay.
I was wrong about the pope being born in Rome, that was his dad, but there is little doubt he has socialist ideals and the church has seen nothing like it for more than a thousand years.
‘During the 2005 conclave in which he was runner up, he was reportedly the victim of a smear campaign by other, more liberal members of the Jesuit order, who claimed that he never smiled.
‘He travelled to the conclave in Rome on an economy flight.
‘Francis is the first non-European pope since Gregory III, who was born in modern-day Syria and elected in 731.’
Yes, IPA, great non-answer. Deflected by a comic strip and still no rational rebuttal.
Ergo, christianspectre has you worried. 😆
There are plenty of places on the interwebs you can
taunt stoopid godbotherersargue about religion. I’m not interested.Rap God.
So, can we draw the conlusion that IPA is a dogbotherer too … which one I wonder … ($)?
IPA is no dog botherer, too bright to be fooled by nonsense and he’s not agnostic on AGW.
Hmmmmmm…having been a reader of nearly every comment he’s ever made on this & related blogs, el gordo, I think there is enough evidence to suggest that your claim is incorrect.
Thing about IPA is (and this is obviously his prerogative, but people will draw their own conclusions about it) he is very deliberately obviable when it comes to expressing actual personal positions. Once again, that’s his choice; fair enough. Ungod knows, we’ve seen enough instances of behaviour from the odd crackpot here over the years to suggest that at least a modicum of anonymity may be wise indeed.
I suppose his stance on ‘faith’ is one of those personal things.
I think, he doesn’t want to argue about religion with me because he’d rather defend things which are a little more easy to make a case for without sounding like a twit. I may be wrong, but in the absence of further input from him, confirming or denying, that is the view I hold.
I notice that most of those of a certain ideological bent quite like to piss on Islam, but avoid any criticism of the nonsenses of Christianity. Now, I’m happy for people to have their religion, as long as they keep it private. I’ve never advocated for it’s abolition; I don’t think such a thing would be realistically achievable anyway.
My comments are generally directed towards my opinion that the premise that all religions are based upon (man imagined assertions of knowing the mind of [man imagined] gods) are false & more than a little silly & don’t bear scrutiny. People tend to shun engaging with their uncertainties.
I agree that IPA is one of the brighter people I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with on the internet & I strongly value his comments & opinions. To be honest, he’s one of few who I actually take the time to read & attempt to comprehend.
Unfortunately, godbaiting is one of my charming character traits. 😆
Nicely said Toilet.
Dunny,
lpad`osy only tends to defend dog-bothering linked to Mr-Rabbit and his zombies, not so much as a `stand-alone` topic, which tends to be oh 🙄 snacky`s foray.
‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Now, I’m happy for people to have their religion, as long as they keep it private. I’ve never advocated for it’s abolition; I don’t think such a thing would be realistically achievable anyway.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
Ever since the primates tumbled out of the tree-tops, many of them landing on their heads in the process, dog-bothering has been a core aspect of primate culture and psychological make-up. There is bugger-all chance of removing dog-bothering from the primates, along with greed, envy and other primate traits.
‘Unfortunately, godbaiting is one of my charming character traits.’
Its not a bad portfolio, but poking fun at old style religions is easy, lets talk about the ‘faith’ in CC which Neil alludes to and of course UFO and extraterrestrials.
IPA is a futurist and a realist, which indicates he has no faith in a universal dog.
As I said, el gordo, I think you may be wrong on that. There are germs of evidence from IPA over the years.
Neil is also a suspected minion of the Celestial Privacy Invader.
It amuses me greatly that (yourself being an obvious exception) many of those who use ‘faith’ & ‘religion’ as a negative smear against AGW adherents & cast a blazing light of scrutiny upon what they see as its logical inconsistencies, refuse to cast that same warranted scrutiny onto the premise of theism. In this way, they show their true hand.
“Neil is also a suspected minion of the Celestial Privacy Invader.”
Like most people my age my parents sent me to Sunday School (Protestant).
Bob Hawkes father was a Congregational Minister. Back in the 50’s, 60’s and early seventies a large chunk of people went to church. Hawke met Hazel at a church function.
Most people claimed to be CofE or RC until relatively recently.
Interestingly it was most probably tribal rather than actual belief but RC’s tended to vote Labor and CofE’s tended to vote Liberal.
Now most atheists vote Labor and a majority of religious people vote Coalition. Fourty years ago a leader of the Liberals who claimed to be Catholic was unheard of.
I agree with the boss… ToSY seldom articulates a position but generally defends the dogbotherers when they are subject to criticism..
NTTAWWT.
‘Theism, in the broadest sense, is the belief that at least one deity exists.’
And presumably made heaven and earth in six days, with only humans to enjoy the wonder of his hand.
Bollocks, its a carbon based universe and in our Milky Way there are 8.2 billion planets capable of sustaining life in the habitable zone.
It’s entirely feasible that our deity, the one that created Adam and Eve, is an opportunist.
Inane Hall on the other hand is just a narrow minded redneck hillbilly with wannabe middle class pretensions…
White trash middle-class wannabes from the lower socio-economic groups are the worst type of conservatives as far as I’m concerned. The likes of Hall “think” that if they adopt the same racist and homophobic views held by the middle classes they think that this might somehow give them the opportunity of joining “the upper echelons of the conservatives”.
But the reality is that the middle class conservatives regard the likes of Inane Hall with the same contempt they regard as Greenies or Lefties….WHITE TRASH.
‘generally defends the dogbotherers when they are subject to criticism..’
Its a feeling that people should be free to choose their own course in life, no matter how misguided or inane. This ties in very nicely with his free market beliefs.
So I’m leaving my money on the table.
“Its a feeling that people should be free to choose their own course in life, no matter how misguided or inane.”
Completely agree… 🙂
And if I think that those beliefs are completely fucked up and nothing but fanciful fairy tales that they’ve been brainwashed into thinking is somehow reality, then i’ll consider myself at liberty to articulate that charge. 😉
Being a lapsed catlick I enjoy discussions ridiculing religious belief, you never know what it might lead to…. philosophically speaking.
More recently splatter and me went on an excursion back to the time of Christ to see if JC was real or fiction. Fascinating stuff.
I’m glad you’re enjoying the show egg…. 🙂
It’s entirely feasible that our deity …
Our deity???? 😯
‘Our deity????’
Hypothetically.
Egg always likes to think that everyone’s on his side….
… his … ?? 😕
🙂
Another surfer killed by a shark!
That’s 2 in a week, it’s about time we allowed shark culling around beaches.
When someone gets taken at Bondi or Byron, there will be an outcry because of the effect on tourism, it’s best not to wait for that.
http://www.smh.com.au/national/i-love-you-guys–shark-attack-victim-zac-youngs-last-words-20131130-2yi51.html
‘That’s 2 in a week, it’s about time we allowed shark culling around beaches.’
Agree and at the same time they should do something about the crocodile infestation in the north, its getting out of control.
We could cull a few surfers instead … 🙂
Sharks are awesome.
People who want to eradicate them ‘for the good’ of humanity need a courage transfusion. 😉
* YomM appears to be claiming that a bodyboarder is/was a surfer? 😯
Perhaps the sharks are getting rather pissed off with humans………………
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark#Conservation
Sharks seem to be the the “Islamic Terrorists” of the Sea
Sharks seem to be the the “Islamic Terrorists” of the Sea
Misunderstood? :-
Sharks- APEX PREDATORS
Humans- Floundering Source Of Meat Out Of Its Natural Habitat
Sharks for the win.
Fuck humans, who think they have some right to force their dominion over every cubic metre of the planet.
The internet is a comedy goldmine…
http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=JE0MNNNU
Ignorance is bliss …. for the ignorant, I suppose …
http://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/family-donates-its-fragment-of-original-eureka-flag-to-museum/story-fnii5v6w-1226774265140
I guess Ashley Mackinnon was dreaming of becoming a journalist (or surfing) when the teacher told them about the Eureka Stockade!
Small correction, that should be 1854.
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/science-technology/brain-study-gives-men-and-women-new-ways-to-blame-each-other-2013120381650
Well done, egg! 🙄
BTW, I’m unaware of any “workers rights” … many were killed, many were hunted down and the ringleaders were quickly sentenced to death and hung … 🙄
(Trivia: My original gravatar was the Eureka Flag … but too many people associate it with unions and bikies … rather than the fight for fairness and justice …)
‘Well done, egg!’
I was defending Mackinnon, its a typo and the subs should have picked it up.
The peanut butter guy makes a lot of sense. 😯
6 signs your neighbours are making illegal drugs http://ab.co/1jnZSUx
No mention of the fact that they look completely off their heads most of the time?
‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘sharks are awesome’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘
l agree Dunny.
Sharks help keep the worlds oceans free of bogans.