Pope discusses capitalism, environment in interview with French magazine [CWN]

[CWN_News]

In an interview with the French newsmagazine Paris Match, Pope Francis spoke about capitalism, the environment, and the upcoming canonization of the parents of St. Therese of …

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[Johann_du_Toit]

Ok so his Holiness has clarified it.

“Capitalism and profit are not inherently evil unless they are transformed into idols”.

I always thought his attacks on an “economy that kills” and the idolatry of money were more influenced by Distributist thinking rather than the false accusations of Marxism that some on the radical right have leveled against him.

 

[Maximilan_Kolbe]

Ok so his Holiness has clarified it.

“Capitalism and profit are not inherently evil unless they are transformed into idols”.

I always thought his attacks on an “economy that kills” and the idolatry of money were more influenced by Distributist thinking rather than the false accusations of Marxism that some on the radical right have leveled against him.

Who are these “radical right” members you speak of? I would bet good money the majority of people on here, for example, who took issue with the notion he saw evil in capitalism are hardly radical. they may appear that way to a leftist I suppose, but the beliefs they espouse are anything but radical.

Good to see the explanation most of those you believe to be radical rightists have claimed was the case all along, anyway.

 

[ARSpade]

Ok so his Holiness has clarified it.

“Capitalism and profit are not inherently evil unless they are transformed into idols”.

I always thought his attacks on an “economy that kills” and the idolatry of money were more influenced by Distributist thinking rather than the false accusations of Marxism that some on the radical right have leveled against him.

Most people today don’t even know what Distributism or subsidiarity and all that mean.

 

[Johann_du_Toit]

Who are these “radical right” members you speak of?

Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin and their kind come to mind.

 

[Maximilan_Kolbe]

Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin and their kind come to mind.

I wouldn’t call Rush a radical by any stretch, but in any event, I assumed you were talking about people here. Thanks for clarifying.

I can see why those outside the Catholic faith would be perplexed at things said by any of our Holy Fathers, in the same vein those outside the faith believe the Church’s teaching on homosexuality or the male Priesthood is some bigoted or sexist.

 

[mikekle]

So, now any corporation or person can just deny their profits have reached ‘idol’ level, and justify business as usual? lol

I think maybe we need to hear a definition of what actually constitutes it being an idol over normal capitalism/ profit, or at least an opinion.

Id like to hear some examples of someone/ a company, who DOES idolize money/ profit and those that do not.

 

[graciew]

Id like to hear some examples of someone/ a company, who DOES idolize money/ profit and those that do not.

When to " have" is above all things ?
Would that describe it ?

 

[JakeWI]

I say… when talking about running and operating a business, money has become so important that even if the company is making good money and doing well, the operators find a way to operate even more ‘lean’ by cutting those needed and overworking others for the pure sake of making even more money for themselves. It is when the corporate ‘greed’ starts… then idolizing money comes into play. I have seen this happen before.

I am a conservative and believe in giving freedom for people to start businesses and operate businesses (I am working to do the same)… but there are times when the ‘wants’ overpower what the needs are, and then greed and idolatry can set in. It becomes more of a moral thing than anything…

 

[graciew]

I say… when talking about running and operating a business, money has become so important that even if the company is making good money and doing well, the operators find a way to operate even more ‘lean’ by cutting those needed and overworking others for the pure sake of making even more money for themselves. It is when the corporate ‘greed’ starts… then idolizing money comes into play. I have seen this happen before.

I am a conservative and believe in giving freedom for people to start businesses and operate businesses (I am working to do the same)… but there are times when the ‘wants’ overpower what the needs are, and then greed and idolatry can set in. It becomes more of a moral thing than anything…

When the “wants” overpower the " needs". That is good help. I was also thinking of some personal experiences.