What does he call unfettered 'State' capitalization of business? Seems to me, That's evil by definition.

Absolutely agree. I suspect, however, that in many cases they are not held to that standard. Like many understaffed concerns, they are often happy just to get a warm body.

Since the church is the oldest organization of looters, that isn't surprising.

I always wondered why Ayn Rand made that mistake.

What is RC?

Later in the article, it said this: "Quoting a fourth century bishop, he called the unfettered pursuit of money “the dung of the devil”,..."

I absolutely do not agree that capitalism is dung of the devil, but I would agree that pursuit of money that_you_have_not_earned would qualify as that sort of excrement. Unfortunately, from other remarks that Frank has made he does seem to think that Capitalism = dung. (There are some statements where he has said that he is not opposed to Capitalism but only to greed...but I am not sure I buy this.)

The pope has made a personal choice to live in a communal, socialist Jesuit organization. This cannot help but influence how he thinks a 'good' economic system is constructed. He should be able to do better than that!

Jan

What's sad is that he and many people just don't get it. This Pope is nice man but that's it...he is a man. Not infallible. He also heads a religion that has groomed its robotic followers that faith equals blindly supporting the Roman church, it's oft perverted teaching and that all other churches of the Christian faith will burn in hell, not to mention other religions. They have been told that the books of Ms. Rand and the like are evil because there is no altruism. No, the problem is not capitalism. And the problem is not faith. It is humans perverting religion, and everything else like they are at Old Country Buffet to suit themselves. Humans are going to be their own undoing. Altruism in and of itself is not even a problem, if done as the Bible teaches. In secret, in private...do not let the right hand know what the left is doing. That is giving at it's finest, because the gift is freely and not FALSELY given like Governments and Religions would guilt you into doing for the "public good". This is obviously also a Pope that did not suffer much during WWII, other wise he would realize that under "Unfettered communism, socialism and fascism" his precious Roman Catholicism is not even allowed to exist without certain quid pro quo to that government.

I'm not disputing that at all. What I'm saying is that as priests, monsginors, bishops, archbishops, cardinals and popes they enjoy an office of greater trust and the corresponding responsibility that goes along with it. As a result they should, nay, must be held to a much higher standard particularly with respect to children and they should know and accept that. To take that a step further, again with respect to children, 99% compliance is a failure...it must of necessity be 100%. When an errant cleric is caught, he must be dealt with immediately and severely and not just sent off to another parish. When one fails, they all fail.

Priests, bishops, Popes, are merely men. No better or worse than other men. Without the authority of a heavenly ghost they have no qualification to counsel others. When you have thousands of womenless men, some small percentage of them are bound to prefer boys, others unable to resist young women are less heard from, but the point is -- they are merely men. Without the heavenly ghost to back them up, they'd be treated like any other man.

When the pope sells all the Vatican's stolen/expropriated art works, i'll begin to believe his contrition.

You know Herb, I want to think the best of the man. I honestly do. But when you read about the priests abusing the kids, and now there's a former archbishop, who was an ambassador to the Dominican Republic I believe, is on trial charged with paying young boys for sex, ya gotta wonder...

Meanwhile, the pope is now targetted by the sanhedrin (the jewish religious tribunal) for recognizing Palestine : http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/447...
Everyone's got his pet peeves...

Yes, but he's humble. That counts for something? And, no ladies! I guess his sacrifice makes him able to criticize others. Or does it? I bet it would be interesting to hear what he says about things on a secular level, without using God as his backup.

Excellent point! Although we have certainly seen "unfettered" socialism, communism, and fascism, ad naseum, we have not heard it expressed that way.

Send the Poop a copy of the Black Book of Communism.

The pope has no clue what "unfettered capitalism" might be, as we the living have never seen anything but fettered capitalism!

There's a lot more art in a basement that the public never sees. The Church spent most of the last 2,000 years looting every pagan temple in Europe, as well as bleeding the peasants dry.

Very true. There is also that in reality the elite of any organization that preaches altrusim doesn't practice it.

I love this use of language. "Unfettered." When have we heard of unfettered socialism? Unfettered communism? Unfettered fascism? For that matter, when in the entire history of mankind has there ever been unfettered capitalism? Never. If it had happened, anyone to make such a statement as the Pope's would have been laughed at or recommend a visit to a shrink.

I think Ayn Rand is correct and the pope is incredibly wrong

"So you think that money is the root of all evil? . . . Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can’t exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil?

When you accept money in payment for your effort, you do so only on the conviction that you will exchange it for the product of the effort of others. It is not the moochers or the looters who give value to money. Not an ocean of tears nor all the guns in the world can transform those pieces of paper in your wallet into the bread you will need to survive tomorrow. Those pieces of paper, which should have been gold, are a token of honor—your claim upon the energy of the men who produce. Your wallet is your statement of hope that somewhere in the world around you there are men who will not default on that moral principle which is the root of money. Is this what you consider evil? ( http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/mon... ) "

The pope really has no excuse for his ignorance.

Atlas Shrugged was supposed to be a warning, Not A Newspaper!

It looks like the Pope is the reincarnation of King Canute and his command to halt the tides. Capitalism is the result of natural forces and is not an invention that can be turned on or off by edict. Societies that embrace capitalism are simply using this force, they did not invent it.