Failed Catholic Church Leaders Are the Problem by Richard Viguerie
“Perhaps most of America’s problems can be laid at the feet of the failed leaders of most all major American institutions,” says Viguerie. “And my Catholic Church is, unfortunately, no exception.”The article (below) documents a major Catholic publication that referred to capitalism as a “sin.” The leadership of the Catholic Church-with some notable exceptions-has embraced the political left’s ideology that stands in direct conflict with Catholic teachings and principles.
I regularly read a publication called “Give Us This Day: Daily Prayer for Today’s Catholics.” Not long ago I came across a Reflection published in the August 2016 edition that spoke of Ezekiel’s message of repentance and how we are not bound by our pasts, which is indeed a very important matter of our faith in the power of redemption.
The Reflection, however, said that “we are complicit in a world shaped by generations of structural sins like racism, sexism, colonialism, and capitalism.”
When I pointed out this outrage of calling capitalism a “sin” to my pastor, he said the author surely meant “unbridled capitalism.” But that is not what she wrote, nor is what this major Catholic publication printed. Marxism, on the other hand, relies on coercive taking of individuals’ liberty, labor and property, and is inherently a real sin whether unbridled or not.
The false narrative being spread to the Catholic faithful that capitalism is wrong is the fault of the leadership of the Catholic Church that has increasingly become a left-leaning ideological mouthpiece instead of fulfilling its role of providing spiritual guidance consistent with the Bible.
The Marxist-influenced left to which Catholic leaders have too often tied themselves is also leading the war on religious liberty and Biblical principles in America. The God-given rights of conscience of Catholics and others who wish to speak and practice the Word of the Bible have been attacked by the left, and penalized by the government.
As to adopting socialist principles, Pope Francis is now the main culprit. In May 2015, Cliff Kincaid chronicled how The Catholic Church Has Gone Socialist, describing a “Francis-Marxist alliance” with political leaders throughout the world, and referencing just some of the Pope’s enunciation of principles that are consistent with the policies of big, coercive government.
In the category of “it takes one to know one,” earlier this year Bernie Sanders called Francis a socialist. This led to an obvious observation in Forbes that Pope Francis Trumpets Socialism Over Capitalism, noting the “Pope’s call for a ‘truly communitarian economy'” and his suggesting the need for “global answers to local problems.”
With Pope Francis having been branded honestly by both socialist Sanders and free market supporters, the Catholic left in America understood how devastating the socialist label is among independent and conservative Catholics, who see that ideology as inconsistent with real Catholic doctrine. So the Catholic left attempted-rather incredibly-to deny Pope Francis’ socialist ideology.
At the “National Catholic Reporter” Obama-supporter Christopher Hale, who also claimed quite incredibly that Obamacare does not threaten religious freedom, wrote that “Pope Francis is no socialist,” but instead is “a radical Christian.” This defense is certainly neither comforting nor convincing.
Pope Francis, however, is just one of many leaders of the Catholic Church who have foregone not just Church teachings, but who have ignored the reality that Marxism has created great suffering, while capitalism has lifted more people out of poverty than any system known to man. Indeed, capitalism was initially influenced in part by the Church and Christian principles, and its early use in America fostered great prosperity and innovation.
Too many American bishops, however, have now tied themselves to big government and leftist causes. Catholic Charities, for example, receives 65 percent of its budget from federal and state governments. Catholic Campaign for Human Development grants support organizations that operate in conflict with Catholic teachings.
In the name of helping the poor, Bishops, like Barack Obama, have created more of them. The Marxist policies implemented by Barack Obama have created the largest number of food stamp recipients in our history. When Catholic bishops complained about proposed cuts in the food stamp program, House Speaker Paul Ryan got it right, saying, “The president’s policies, by the administration’s own admission, accelerate a debt crisis, hurting the poor the first and the worst.”
Pope Francis and many bishops have confused their Catholic principles by supporting a leftist ideology that creates poor, while wrongly condemning-or creating the impression that they condemn-capitalism. They are the real problem in the Catholic Church, and have caused many to question their fidelity to honest and moral Catholic teachings.