this post was submitted on 14 Jan 2024
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christianity

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"Let it be very clear, then, that when the church preaches social justice, equality, and human dignity; when the church defends those who suffer poverty or violence, this is not subversive nor is it Marxism. This is the authentic magisterium of the church.
-Óscar Romero


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[–] [email protected] 50 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Yes he's still the head of a massive real estate holding company that covers up the crimes of its clergy, but damn if it isn't funny watching European Catholics mald over a South American "radical" sitting at the top of the Church.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 8 months ago (3 children)

Ha, thanks! Learned a new word today: mald - and it’s a beaut. It’s my mission to use this in conversation by the end of the week…

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[–] [email protected] 45 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

He's been saying the same thing for a decade at least. I don't think he says that he's agreeing with Marxists. He's saying that Marxists want to help poor people and Christians want to help poor people. He's saying that Marxists should be Christians, not that Christians should be Marxists. He wants people to stop being Marxists to be Christians instead. He's using Marxists to achieve his own goals, but I don't think he can be trusted.

His analysis is wrong. Marxism is not simply about "helping the poor". Marxism is an end to economic classes. In the 2018 article that he wrote, he writes that Marxism is wrong because it tries to create heaven on earth.

2013

“The Marxist ideology is wrong. But I have met many Marxists in my life who are good people, so I don’t feel offended.”
https://archive.is/5ejV4

2014

"I can only say that the communists have stolen our flag. The flag of the poor is Christian. Poverty is at the center of the Gospel,"
"Communists say that all this is communism. Sure, twenty centuries later. So when they speak, one can say to them: 'but then you are Christian',"
https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0F40KZ/

2015

Pope Francis has said he wasn’t offended by the “communist crucifix” given to him by Bolivian president Evo Morales during his South American pilgrimage.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/13/pope-francis-communist-crucifix-gift-bolivia

2016

Asked if his pursuit and support for a more egalitarian society meant he envisioned a “Marxist type of society,” the pontiff said in response, “If anything, it is the communists who think like Christians.”
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/The-Pope-Hails-Communism-For-Focus-on-Poor-and-Marginalized-20161111-0017.html

2018

The Pope: we depend on God, Marxism is wrong to deny Him
https://www.lastampa.it/vatican-insider/en/2018/05/06/news/the-pope-we-depend-on-god-marxism-is-wrong-to-deny-him-1.34014169/

[–] [email protected] 22 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Nah its great because chuds think he's telling people to be Marxists

[–] [email protected] 14 points 8 months ago

yeah but chuds would think that even if all he'd said was "flowers are cool"

[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago (1 children)

“If anything, it is the communists who think like Christians.”

communists keep winning heh

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

You are reading the quote incorrectly. The Pope is mocking Communists. He says that Christians started helping people "twenty centuries" ago but Communists only started helping people recently. He's saying that Christians own the concept of helping people and when Communists help other people, it is because they are copying Christians. He's saying this in jest, I hope. It is banter but still he's mocking communists. He's not saying this to support Communists.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago

The self suppression line of thinking is beyond dumb. And no leftist worth their salt will ever claim that all problems will be solved and we'll have a "heaven on earth" because of Marxism.

[–] [email protected] 44 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Critical support for the Pope.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Definitely. He holds the ears of many people in the global south and something like this will reach them.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago (5 children)

He doesn't support gay marriage though

[–] [email protected] 29 points 8 months ago

I know he's got a few brain worms which is why I said critical support.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Pope Francis was the first Pope to support same-sex civil unions; after a backlash from some within the church, he later clarified that he meant laws to protect certain rights, such as hospital visitation and inheritance.[8][9] In February 2023, Pope Francis said that the criminalization of same-sexual acts in several countries in Africa and Asia is wrong, a sin and an injustice, even though traditionally the Catholic hierarchy supported anti-sodomy laws.[10][11] On September 25, 2023, Pope Francis indicated it may be possible to conduct "forms of blessing, requested by one or more persons, that do not convey a mistaken concept of marriage".[12] On December 18, 2023, Pope Francis approved a doctrinal declaration which permitted priests to perform "non-liturgical blessings of same-sex couples.[13][14]

I don't know much on this topic but it seems like this pope is at least sympathetic to LGBT people and is trying to moderate the Church's opposition to gay rights. Seems to me that while it's correct to say that he doesn't materially support gay marriage, he is still willing to try to fudge church rules in favor of gay people.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago

Yeah, he doesn't think gay people should be killed off so that's a start

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago

Fudging the church rules iwhile still staying within them is the heart of Catholicism

[–] [email protected] 16 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

"Critical support" means to support something while still being critical of it.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 8 months ago

and anti-trans, etc

[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago

i wonder what the word "critical" is doing in this sentence

[–] [email protected] 39 points 8 months ago (1 children)

If Pope Francis is the one who'll start a communist revolution in the West I'm convinced we're in a modded Civilization game or something

[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago

someone pulled a Skyblivion and modded CK2/3, EU4 and Vicky 2/3 into one consistent grand strategy game

[–] [email protected] 36 points 8 months ago (6 children)

ANOTHER VICTORY FOR CATHOLIC MARXISTS(MEANING JUST ME)! CAN'T STOP RACKING UP THE W'S THESE DAYS(I AM IN SO MUCH DEBT I WANT TO CRY)! POPE FRANCIS BRINGS IT ROME AGAIN!

[–] [email protected] 14 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Dasha finding a less cool religion to convert to right about now, it's a good day for the left wing of Catholicism.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 8 months ago

ALWAYS A GOOD DAY TO BELIEVE IN DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM AND MIRACLES AT THE SAME TIME

[–] [email protected] 14 points 8 months ago (1 children)

There's at least two of us.

On the Socialist discord I'm on sometimes we'll start talking about religion and realize all 10+ people in the call are Catholic. If anything we're overrpresented.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago

There are dozens of us! Dozens!

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 8 months ago

jesus-cleanse jesus-cleanse jesus-cleanse

Not a big fan of the Papacy but this is very cool.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 8 months ago

Westerners when there is more to Christianity than "women and gay le bad" boohoo

[–] [email protected] 26 points 8 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

I consider myself gnostic, but I am a crusader for liberation theology.

Reactionaries are the true (funny D-word)s. Look at 4chan and tell me that any God smiles on them. Deus Vult.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago

Just out of curiosity, did you mean to say agnostic or was gnostic intentional?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

Catholicism doesn't own liberation theology. From Diggers to Narodniks most Christian (indeed most religions') factions have had tendencies. Heck, the Christian Gnostic Essenes are echoed in modern Christian Anarchist communities.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Two of the “Sins that cry to Heaven for Vengeance”, I.e. sins that are so serious you may ask God to kill the sinner, are underpaying or withholding wages from workers, even if both parties “consented” to an unfair wage; and just general oppression of the poor.

One of the other sins is sodomy, but I will cherry pick to ignore that because the other sins actually matter materially whereas this one is just being invasive for no reason lol.

It was also Catholics that explained and reaffirmed these sins as serious.

Catechism 2434 - A just wage is the legitimate fruit of work. To refuse or withhold it can be a grave injustice.221 In determining fair pay both the needs and the contributions of each person must be taken into account. "Remuneration for work should guarantee man the opportunity to provide a dignified livelihood for himself and his family on the material, social, cultural and spiritual level, taking into account the role and the productivity of each, the state of the business, and the common good." Agreement between the parties is not sufficient to justify morally the amount to be received in wages.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago

And it's somewhat clear from the Bible that the scenarios where it condemns sodomy it's actually talking about assault

[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago

Probably the most based thing any Western head of state has said about Marxism in a long time, even setting aside the obvious spiritual implications for Catholics.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago

If this guy keeps acting up I'm going to relapse on roman catholicism.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago

Militant Catholic theocrats are fuming rn

[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 months ago (3 children)

Do US evangelicals follow the pope or are they protestants?

[–] [email protected] 21 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

They definitely do not follow the pope and used to be much more vocally anti-catholic. They’ve become less anti-catholic in recent years (at least publicly) due to it being politically expedient, but take a look at some Chick tracts on Catholicism if you want to know how evangelicals really feel about them.

EDIT: Here’s a good example:

[–] [email protected] 17 points 8 months ago (2 children)

me: expecting something coherent about how the Roman Catholic church was a marriage of Christian doctrine with Pagan traditions, how it's all centralized in a way Jesus wouldn't have wanted, how the Bible should be the main arbiter of the Christian worldview

jack chick: eating wafers and drinking wine is equivalent to animal sacrifice.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago (2 children)

I study pagan religion and practice Catholicism, it is not a fusion of the two at all. There's some trappings but it's a completely different thing, and it honestly, I shit you not, has more to do with roman law and greek philosophy

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

Justin Martyr is A Time, gotta say.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago

Devout evangelicals not be frothing at the mouth lunatics challenge. Difficulty: impossible

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

Evangelicals rely on a certain few catholic judges specifically.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 8 months ago

Only Catholics and Episcopalians (to a lesser extent) care about what the Pope says. Well, he's obviously still an important spiritual leader for all Christians, but no other denominations actually are required to abide by what the Church says. Even then, the people saying the Pope are infallible so Catholics have to agree with this are wrong. A lot of Popes before Francis said the exact opposite of what he said here, that Catholics should beware of Marxism and Socialism. If they were always infallible, the statements would be contradictory and something would be seriously wrong. The Pope is only infallible when speaking Ex Catedra, which AFAIK has only happened twice (declaring the Assumption of the Virgin Mary unto Heaven and the Immaculate Conception, i.e. two fairly specific doctrines, not social mandates).

TLDR: What the Pope said is not exactly binding for anybody, much less the most reactionary Christians in the US. It's a step in the right direction, though, so still welcome.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago

protestant. they don't even have a governing body most of the time

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago
[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago

More like Rerum Yesvarum

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