Why Do Conservatives Hate Pope Francis So Much ?

Just Read These 20 Quotes...

1. “In ideologies there is not Jesus: in his tenderness, his love, his meekness. And ideologies are rigid, always. Of every sign: rigid. And when a Christian becomes a disciple of the ideology, he has lost the faith: he is no longer a disciple of Jesus, he is a disciple of this attitude of thought… For this reason Jesus said to them: ‘You have taken away the key of knowledge.’ The knowledge of Jesus is transformed into an ideological and also moralistic knowledge, because these close the door with many requirements. The faith becomes ideology and ideology frightens, ideology chases away the people, distances, distances the people and distances of the Church of the people. But it is a serious illness, this of ideological Christians. It is an illness, but it is not new, eh?”
~Pope Francis, taking aim at ideologically obsessed Christians, October 2013

2. “We don’t want this globalised economic system which does us so much harm. Men and women have to be at the centre (of an economic system) as God wants, not money… The world has become an idolator of this god called money… To defend this economic culture, a throwaway culture has been installed. We throw away grandparents, and we throw away young people. We have to say no to his throwaway culture. We want a just system that helps everyone.”
~Pope Francis, criticizing “savage capitalism,” September 2013

3. “We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods … It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time. The dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent. The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently.”
~Pope Francis, criticizing obsessed focus on abortion, same-sex marriage, and contraception, September 2013

4. “We have become used to the suffering of others. Has any one of us wept for these persons who were on the boat? For the young mothers carrying their babies? For these men who were looking for a means of supporting their families? We are a society which has forgotten how to weep, how to experience compassion… the church is with you in the search for a more dignified life for you and your families.”
~Pope Francis, taking up the plight of immigrants and the poor, July 2013

5. “A way has to be found to enable everyone to benefit from the fruits of the earth, and not simply to close the gap between the affluent and those who must be satisfied with the crumbs falling from the table, but above all to satisfy the demands of justice, fairness and respect for every human being.”
~Pope Francis, calling for social justice, Address to the Food and Agricultural Organization, June 2013

6. “The popes have spoken of human ecology, closely linked to environmental ecology. We are living in a time of crisis: we see this in the environment, but above all we see this in mankind … Man is not in charge today, money is in charge, money rules. God our Father did not give the task of caring for the earth to money, but to us, to men and women: we have this task! Instead, men and women are sacrificed to the idols of profit and consumption: it is the ‘culture of waste.’”
~Pope Francis, standing up for the poor and the environment, June 2013

7. “We human beings are not only the beneficiaries but also the stewards of other creatures. Thanks to our bodies, God has joined us so closely to the world around us that we can feel the desertification of the soil almost as a physical ailment, and the extinction of a species as a painful disfigurement. Let us not leave in our wake a swatch of destruction and death which will affect our own lives and those of future generations.”
~Pope Francis, calling for protecting the environment, Evangelii Gaudium, November 2013

8. “As long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world’s problems or, for that matter, to any problems. I beg the Lord to grant us more politicians who are genuinely disturbed by the state of society, the people, the lives of the poor! It is vital that government leaders and financial leaders take heed and broaden their horizons, working to ensure that all citizens have dignified work, education and healthcare.”
~Pope Francis, blasting “unfettered capitalism,” November 2013

9. “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. 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.”
~Pope Francis, attacking trickle-down economics, Evangelii Gaudium, November 2013

10. “While the earnings of a minority are growing exponentially, so too is the gap separating the majority from the prosperity enjoyed by those happy few. This imbalance is the result of ideologies which defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation. Consequently, they reject the right of states, charged with vigilance for the common good, to exercise any form of control. A new tyranny is thus born, invisible and often virtual, which unilaterally and relentlessly imposes its own laws and rules. Debt and the accumulation of interest also make it difficult for countries to realize the potential of their own economies and keep citizens from enjoying their real purchasing power. To all this we can add widespread corruption and self-serving tax evasion, which have taken on worldwide dimensions. The thirst for power and possessions knows no limits. In this system, which tends to devour everything which stands in the way of increased profits, whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenseless before the interests of a deified market, which become the only rule.”
~Pope Francis, attacking tax evasion by the wealthy, raw capitalism, and the interests of the rich over the environment, Evangelii Gaudium, November 2013

11. “The Church acknowledges the indispensable contribution which women make to society through the sensitivity, intuition and other distinctive skill sets which they, more than men, tend to possess. I think, for example, of the special concern which women show to others, which finds a particular, even if not exclusive, expression in motherhood. I readily acknowledge that many women share pastoral responsibilities with priests, helping to guide people, families and groups and offering new contributions to theological reflection. But we need to create still broader opportunities for a more incisive female presence in the Church. Because the feminine genius is needed in all expressions in the life of society, the presence of women must also be guaranteed in the workplace and in the various other settings where important decisions are made, both in the Church and in social structures. Demands that the legitimate rights of women be respected, based on the firm conviction that men and women are equal in dignity, present the Church with profound and challenging questions which cannot be lightly evaded.”
~Pope Francis, speaking on women’s rights and women’s role in the workplace, Evangelii Gaudium, November 2013

12. “We Christians should embrace with affection and respect Muslim immigrants to our countries in the same way that we hope and ask to be received and respected in countries of Islamic tradition. I ask and I humbly entreat those countries to grant Christians freedom to worship and to practice their faith, in light of the freedom which followers of Islam enjoy in Western countries! Faced with disconcerting episodes of violent fundamentalism, our respect for true followers of Islam should lead us to avoid hateful generalisations, for authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence.”
~Pope Francis, telling Christians to stop hating Muslims, Evangelii Gaudium, November 2013

13. “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone!”.. We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.”
~Pope Francis, reaching out to atheists, May 2013

14. “… We have done little to adequately accompany women in very difficult situations, where abortion appears as a quick solution to their profound anguish, especially when the life developing within them is the result of rape or a situation of extreme poverty. Who can remain unmoved before such painful situations?”
~Pope Francis, calling for having sympathy and compassion for women who choose abortion because of extreme poverty and rape, Evangelii Gaudium, November 2013

15. “When we talk about the environment, about creation, my thoughts turn to the first pages of the Bible, the Book of Genesis, which states that God placed man and woman on earth to cultivate and care for it. And the question comes to my mind: What does cultivating and caring for the earth mean? Are we truly cultivating and caring for creation? Or are we exploiting and neglecting it?”
~Pope Francis, advocating for taking care of the environment, June 2013

16. “Fighting poverty, both material and spiritual, building peace and constructing bridges: these, as it were, are the reference points for a journey that I want to invite each of the countries here represented to take up. But it is a difficult journey, if we do not learn to grow in love for this world of ours. Here too, it helps me to think of the name of Francis, who teaches us profound respect for the whole of creation and the protection of our environment, which all too often, instead of using for the good, we exploit greedily, to one another’s detriment.”
~Pope Francis, on poverty and the environment, Address, March 2013

17. “A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. I replied with another question: ‘Tell me: when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person?’ We must always consider the person. Here we enter into the mystery of the human being. In life, God accompanies persons, and we must accompany them, starting from their situation. It is necessary to accompany them with mercy. When that happens, the Holy Spirit inspires the priest to say the right thing.”
~Pope Francis, saying we should love people even if they are gay,

18. “This is happening today. If investments in banks fall, it is a tragedy and people say ‘what are we going to do?’ but if people die of hunger, have nothing to eat or suffer from poor health, that’s nothing. This is our crisis today. A Church that is poor and for the poor has to fight this mentality.”
~Pope Francis, condemning hunger, inaccessible health care, and poverty,

19. “The times talk to us of so much poverty in the world and this is a scandal. Poverty in the world is a scandal. In a world where there is so much wealth, so many resources to feed everyone, it is unfathomable that there are so many hungry children, that there are so many children without an education, so many poor persons. Poverty today is a cry.”
~Pope Francis, decrying poverty and hunger at a time of great world wealth during a meeting with students of Jesuit Schools, June 2013

20. “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him? The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this very well. It says they should not be marginalized because of this (orientation) but that they must be integrated into society. The problem is not having this orientation. We must be brothers.”
~Pope Francis, putting the brakes on hating gay people, July 2013

Someone just sent me the above quotes compilation by email, together with the text bellow with which I couldn`t agree more...

Pope Francis is everything that conservatives hate.

Pope Francis is a different pontiff than his predecessors, and that’s a good thing that the world has badly been in need of. While not an absolute liberal, Pope Francis does hold many views in opposition to many conservative policies. Conservatives are largely prejudice, anti-poor, anti-women, anti-education, anti-healthcare, anti-peace, anti-gay, anti-immigrant, and against other religious beliefs. Pope Francis is none of these things. And that’s why conservatives hate him. He doesn’t fit the extreme mold that the right-wing demands. In other words, he’s not a cold-hearted lunatic. He’s the compassionate and inclusive pontiff that a majority of the people have been waiting for.

He's a very brave man too. He's doing and saying the sorts of things that tend to get people assassinated by elite powergroups who feel threatened by his message.

I'm not sure how it happened actually, the Catholic Church seem to have somehow inadvertantly elected a real Christian to highest office.

This man deserves the "person of the year" title, as well as the title of "Pope."

I am delighted that he's been brought out from the shadows and placed into a position of mentorship.

He and the Dalai Lama, equally, deserve the respect of the entire world. And they're both fantastic.

I am Conservative and i have no qualms with the pope. You shouldn't confuse conservatives with people of greed. Some of the most liberal of people complain of helping the world poor and unfortunate especially when it cuts into there own snap benefits. I can remember when the typhoon hit the Philippines you same people bashing conservatives complained of sending aid to foreigners when you guys complain of barely having enough to eat, keep the power on, play on the internet, and buy your lotto tickets. Growing up conservatism was electing to buy the cheaper hot dogs not the greedy lib having someone else buy your lobster and steak.


Who is the greedy stricken one that complains of helping people without its not conservatism but definitely liberalism.

reply to post by CosmicDude


I'm not a follower of religion, but I was raised Catholic and have watched numerous popes come and go. Pope Francis is the first pope in my lifetime that has displayed being more Christ like than the popes before him. He has shunned the royalties of his position, refuses to judge people's personal decisions and has gravitated toward the sick and have nots.

I think conservatives are hung up on the refusal of this pope to condemn homosexuality. I'm not a fan of homosexuality or its life style, but I also don't think religious leaders or government officials have a right to judge or create laws based upon a person's personal decision.

I think some of them are following Sarah Palin's ridiculous condemnation of the pope for being too liberal. Jesus' actions and beliefs were more in-line with liberal beliefs.

reply to post by CosmicDude


Which conservatives have said they hate the Pope?

reply to post by VictorVonDoom


I'd really like the OP to address that question too. I've heard no conservative groups, one could describe as such, bad mouthing this Pope. In fact, I've been happy to see good things and hope from almost all directions relating to the changes which the Church is being forced through.

They needed an Butt Kicker. The last pope was a wimp who quit outright almost on the spot after getting his "Popes eyes only" internal report of misconduct and bad dealings within the Vatican and Church. So, when they called, this guy arrived.

Seems like a butt kicker to me so far. At least toward the people in need of a Papal boot in the tail. To others, like the poor and others? He's a Saint, thus far.

Given how the Church seems to have been one bad thing and poor judgement after another in recent times? It's about time they brought in the clean-up crew.

VictorVonDoom
reply to post by CosmicDude

 

Which conservatives have said they hate the Pope?

www.youtube.com...

Limbaugh doesn't hate the Pope.

Limbaugh dislikes Marxism and believes it to wrong, oppressive and anti-liberty. If the Pope is espousing Marxist thought, then they are going to disagree.

Why is it that some must equate disagreement with hatred? It seems to be a common way for leftists to twist language these days. I recently checked my Thesaurus, and disagree and hate are not synonyms.

Why must some people use the word "hate" to describe people that disagree with them? No answer needed... we all already know.

Some people recognize marketing when they see it. Calling it for what it is, is not hate.

They are trying to get more Catholics. Like they have for thousands of years. Nothing more.

If they really cared about the people they would start telling the truth about history. Especially their history. Especially the Jesuit history.

Then we could start actually building something on a true foundation rather than constantly being pulled left and right by organizations competing to inflate their ranks to increase their influence and control.

Ranchers when recognizing the ranch is dying also tend to start treating the ranch citizens better to re-strengthen it... but they are still the "property" of the ranch.

The reason for the "right" or "conservatives" have a problem with him is because the ideology they high jacked to pander (Christianity ) is directly opposed to Many right or conservative values.

As you see the response when someone starts saying true Christian values the response from the right shows the lip service their pandering really is.

ketsuko
Limbaugh doesn't hate the Pope.

Limbaugh dislikes Marxism and believes it to wrong, oppressive and anti-liberty. If the Pope is espousing Marxist thought, then they are going to disagree.

Why is it that some must equate disagreement with hatred? It seems to be a common way for leftists to twist language these days. I recently checked my Thesaurus, and disagree and hate are not synonyms.

When Rush singles someone out for criticism - it's not because he respectfully disagrees with them

We can argue about the word hate if you like. That's just semantics

ketsuko
Limbaugh doesn't hate the Pope.

Limbaugh dislikes Marxism and believes it to wrong, oppressive and anti-liberty. If the Pope is espousing Marxist thought, then they are going to disagree.

Why is it that some must equate disagreement with hatred? It seems to be a common way for leftists to twist language these days. I recently checked my Thesaurus, and disagree and hate are not synonyms.

Than you need to go back further where his ideas came from, and it wasn't Marxism.

He's expounding what he feels is Christ teaching, so if it sounds like Marxism rush and the other conservatives who claim the Christian Right as their base better reconsider their entire beliefs.

That or Rush Limbaugh is directly opposed to Christ teachings.

But I guess sell all you have and give to the poor makes Jesus and every true follower of him a Marxist leftist anti American I suppose.

NOTE: I do not consider myself a "Christian" as most would consider the term. No more than I consider myself a Taoist or a Buddhist, etc. But all of the things I have learned from those as well as my time with Atheism flow through me.

benrl
Than you need to go back further where his ideas came from, and it wasn't Marxism.

He's expounding what he feels is Christ teaching, so if it sounds like Marxism rush and the other conservatives who claim the Christian Right as their base better reconsider their entire beliefs.

That or Rush Limbaugh is directly opposed to Christ teachings.

But I guess sell all you have and give to the poor makes Jesus and every true follower of him a Marxist leftist anti American I suppose.

WE are supposed to be the ones helping each other of our own accord.

Not handing it over to a massive governmental agency (secular or religious doesn't matter) and then all arguing about whether that agency is living up to its responsibility or not... cheering when it does claiming it as "progress", jeering when it doesn't... claiming failure.

We are to take care of our own whether there is a pope or not... a Catholic church or not... etc. But entire nations have not been able to do so because they were taken under the control of "Big Papa who will make sure everything is ok... so long as you do as we say".

Being the head of an organization which would not survive if we were to *actually* follow those teachings and trying to reinforce that organization is a funny way to follow the teachings in my view.

There is nothing... absolutely NOTHING... about Jesus that says "force people to be this way" or to build a bureaucratic government to run things according to his teachings. That's Old Testament thinking.

Either we teach or we force. If we are teaching, we do as Jesus did. Face to face. Among friends and community.

If we endorse forcing via the state/church, we're simply manufacturing slaves to give off the appearance of following the teachings and creating massive increases of dependency because entire generations grow up knowing nothing but obedience and don't really understand *why* they are doing things the way they are.

Teaching is harder. It's more difficult. This is why the people who don't really have the time to help in a way that lasts are so easily satisfied by those they are "helping" *looking* like they've been "helped" for long enough to feel better and that "something was done".

It always ends up requiring resorting to force to maintain it because nothing was taught... just mandated... and the organization helping now has people who depend on it for their own livelihood. So they need perpetual "people to help". If everyone is helped, they are out of a job.

Every Conman promises to help. Every Patsy really thought they were working for the good guys.

I find it interesting how easily swooned and seduced some who would have had nothing to do with the Catholic Church before have been. "Ohhh he's speakin' my language!" "Never mind all that other stuff I still disagree with and matter far more in the true impact on the earth... did you hear him say he's ok with me being gay and that I'm a good person because I don't think the poor should starve and someone should be doing something about it... what a GREAT GUY!!!!"

This organization has survived 2000+ years (before you react... think deeper).

Come on... they know us better than we know it or even ourselves. Every government survives by trying to convince the people that its priorities are the same as theirs... whatever they may be currently.

That is the sole job of the public face. There is no other job of the public face of Government and Religion. None. Whether that face personally means it or not... they are still just a mask for the far larger organization behind that face... an organization which can crush and remove said face at any moment it wishes/needs.

There is only one way to truly help another. That is to teach them to no longer need your help.

A hand up may be needed to get started... but if the attention stops there you've done nothing but ensure they will fall harder when you have to go take care of yourself.

reply to post by BardingTheBard


As in all things religious, political or the all encompassing cultural milieu; reality and logic have no place in the operating system. It's all about the show, the hype, the appearance and the agenda. Marshall McLuhan in his "The Medium is the Message" nailed the current paradime.

en.wikipedia.org...

Now the pope has shown the "appearance" of conservatives being greedy, mean, selfish and hypocritical. And it scares the bejesus out of them.

The task for the right wing is to now counter the popes' [the teacher/medium/message] call for charity and brotherhood. Attacking the pope is the wrong approach imo; the conservative base is solid and winning converts with a hateful message just won't work; in fact it will be counterproductive as the people [not just Catholics] want peace, not more politics of division. Or at least the "appearance" of unity!

Now expect the GOP to field a spineless weenie in 2016 to show how compassionate they are....

and the wheels go round and round and the painted pony goes up and down....

reply to post by olaru12

Ok... then let's flip it around.

The pope no more deserves CREDIT for his stances as the official face of the church than he deserves CRITICISM for what some see as blatant political maneuvering using "the weak" as a shield to deflect the increasing criticisms and attention on other activities.

Conservatives and liberals will both be better off when they stop giving two damns what any Pope, President, Jesse Jackson, Rush Limbaugh, etc have to say.

Or... sure... continue to think you are so fortunate to live at a time where the Catholic Church might "finally have learned". If I'm wrong I will sing it from the hills. I hope I am.

Remember, this organization was the Roman Empire before it became the Catholic Church. It simply changed its name and the labels of its... "characters of worship" and "got out of town when the # went down"... relocating the center of power elsewhere for a while.

I should note: I apply this equally to the popes before too. Both the patsies and the pros.

The Pope, and I hope all Catholics, know that each individual is a child of God. We are eternal beings who should be treated with respect and dignity. The Church has a goal of encouraging each of us, and our governments, to see that this respect is given to the individual.

Conservatives also share this emphasis on the individual, to an extent not found in Marxist "class theory." If there is a difference between Conservatives and the Pope, it may be due to a misunderstanding. The Pope is not calling for a system of Marxism or Communism, that has already been condemned at it's core.

What he is pointing out is that a system which is entirely greed based robs the poor of even the basics required to provide basic dignity and respect. It's instructive to remember that he comes from Argentina which has a vast and definite divide between the rich and the poor with vast numbers living in squalor with virtually no way out.

Rush mistakenly believed that Francis was calling for Marxism, and he became properly upset about that. In fact, the people who should be concerned about the Pope's comments are those who believe that the individual should survive on government handouts and become dependent on them.

I believe I can be considered a Conservative and a Catholic. I applaud the Pope for reminding me of an old truth in a new way.

In the interest of full disclosure... I do have another perspective on this organization and anyone put as the face of it. A less... Earthly one to some perhaps but it is this.

You go you magnificent beautiful bright shining star you. I love you and the role you play... Even though I dance to a different rhythm so long as I'm allowed to dance. Thank you for all that you do and the paths you provide for those attracted to your variety of services. /salute

reply to post by charles1952

Rush mistakenly believed that Francis was calling for Marxism, and he became properly upset about that.

Or, maybe Rush accurately recognized that the Pope is suggesting that capitalism is not without it's problems and flaws, and then Rush very nearly choked on his ham

Because why? Well, because there is nothing wrong with capitalism - it's a perfect system

Perfect

:-)

In fact, the people who should be concerned about the Pope's comments are those who believe that the individual should survive on government handouts and become dependent on them.

Care to explain how the Popes recent admonishment was directed towards the undeserving and not the greedy? I love how so many lately want so badly to embrace this guy because he appears to be the real deal - but they have to spin everything he says to make it line up with their political beliefs

Holy crap Charles - I'm not even Catholic - and I get it

But, maybe I'm just socialist. And slow. And I hear what I want to hear

:-)

I believe I can be considered a Conservative and a Catholic. I applaud the Pope for reminding me of an old truth in a new way.

All taunting aside Charles - absolutely. Hard not to applaud anyone who calls it as he sees it - and touches on something that applies to all of humanity and not just one group or class