Comments on: Pope Francis and Poverty

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 23:24:19 +0000

[…] […]

By: John Couretas

John Couretas — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 19:53:28 +0000

Watch the interview at this link: http://live.wsj.com/video/opinion-pope-franciss-attack-on-capitalism/27CBA652-BE78-4952-AB3F-BBE7B0725C2D.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_VideoModule_1#!27CBA652-BE78-4952-AB3F-BBE7B0725C2D

By: John Couretas

John Couretas — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 18:33:38 +0000

Thanks for posting this excellent analysis, Fr. Hans. Samuel Gregg will be on the Wall Street Journal’s Opinion Journal program tomorrow, probably around 1-1:15p to discuss Francis and poverty. Find it here: http://online.wsj.com/public/page/news-opinion-commentary.html

Let’s not lose sight of how Gregg closes this article:

I myself take no offense from Evangelii Gaudium’s observations about poverty and the economy. In fact I admire Francis’s determination to ensure that we don’t lose sight of the material misery in which far too many people continue to live. His words are also a powerful reminder that Christ’s commandment to love the poor is truly non-negotiable for any serious Christian.

Nevertheless, as Francis himself writes, “Ideas disconnected from realities give rise to ineffectual forms of idealism” (232). And attention to particular realities about economic life is precisely what’s missing from parts of Evangelii Gaudium’s analysis of wealth and poverty. If we want “the dignity of each human person and the pursuit of the common good” to be more than what the pope calls a “mere addendum” to the pursuit of “true and integral development” (203), then engaging more seriously the economic part of the truth that sets us free would be a good start.

By: cynthia curran

cynthia curran — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 15:31:49 +0000

Well, a lot of conservatives and National Review in general have too much the red state versus the blue state in the US. In fact this doesn’t help conservatives since let’s say Mississippi and other deep southern states have poverty issues mainly because they higher than average black populations. So, a liberal can say Vermont has much lower poverty. I think conservatives should develop more arts and craft businesses in the US, its something the family can do to earn an extra 3,000 to 10,000 dollars. If conservatives want to cut the welfare state, then supporting more online and craft businesses which are sometimes cheaper than your conventional brick and mortar business is the way to go as a second income. Children can have their input in such businesses for example they could think of things like toys that could be created on a 3-d printer and sold at a craft fair. People can send and have their product made by Shapley’s who produces 3-d products for people who don’t have them. In fact supporting some part time small businesses for poor people that worked at Walmart can help to reduce the welfare state without conservatives looking mean since people will have more income in their pockets.

By: Greg

Greg — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 03:54:47 +0000

There is nothing more fearsome or distorting to the soul than unbending allegiance to ideology. The pope joining his voice to our leading Patriarchs in their warnings against market veneration is most welcome indeed.