Up with the Pope; down with the dopes

Though a non-theist who left the Catholic Church half a century ago, I still follow the parade of Popes influencing the world's Catholics and by extension all mankind because of the enormous influence they potentially wield for good. And what a joy and revelation that the seventh pope of my lifetime, good Pope Francis, is truly fulfilling that ideal. First, he called out the homophobes in the Church who obsess about giving full citizenship to their gay brother and sisters, telling them to "get over it" and focus on true spirituality needed to improve life on Earth.

Now he's upped the anti in human kindness by issuing his "Apostolic Exhortation" denouncing "the new idolatry of money" where he warned,
"The worship of the ancient golden calf has returned in a new and ruthless guise in the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly human purpose. The worldwide crisis affecting finance and the economy lays bare their imbalances and, above all, their lack of real concern for human beings".

Right on, Pope Francis. He's wisely and correctly using shame and guilt to call attention to the gargantuan disparity of income between the wealthiest 2% and the remaining 98% on America's economic ladder, more correctly portrayed as a growing abyss. This disparity began with President Reagan's hoax of "Trickle Down" economics used to lower tax rates on the rich to funnel endless wealth to himself and his rich buddies in the golden 2%. This ruinous creed accounts for the top 2% growing their income by over 33% since the recent recession while the bottom 98% increased theirs a miniscule 0.4%. Today, 47 million folks, a fifth of Americans, require food stamps to subsist. Meanwhile heartless and un-Christian legislators strive to cut, cut, cut critical anti-poverty programs, vote against every sensible job creation program, and strive 24/7/365 to abolish the ACA giving 40 million uninsured their first ray of medical help relief. They, above all others, need to study "Apostolic Exhortation" and look deeply into their flawed souls.

Radio hate monger Rush Limbaugh may become apoplectic about Francis' call to address the sin of greed, calling him a Marxist, but this non-theist prefers to call him what he eventually will be by his Church: a saint.