On a number of economic issues, Pope Francis is said to be “to the left of Nancy Pelosi.”

But as an economic mission statement, Evangelii Gaudium places the pope — as Vatican watcher Rev. Thomas Reese predicted in March — “to the left of Nancy Pelosi.” In his decidedly populist document, Pope Francis specifically criticizes the economic “trickle-down theories” that were the beating heart of Ronald Reagan’s anti-tax, anti-regulation revolution.

The part of the document that is grabbing most of the attention starts with Section 53, in the chapter on “the crisis of communal commitment.” With his caveat that “it is not the task of the Pope to offer a detailed and complete analysis of contemporary reality,” Francis begins his economic critique like this:

Just as the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say “thou shalt not” to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills. How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points? [Evangelii Gaudium]

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Editor’s note: The Pope can be as liberal as he wants to, with his own money! The problem with liberals in the United States (and elsewhere) is they like to be liberal with other people’s money!

The grievous abuse begins when liberals (typically Democrats) gain control of public funding – especially Federal funding – because only the Federal Government has the power to print money – or to borrow – big time – from other countries, who also print their own money.

As for Republicans – they’re just slightly less abusive with other people’s money than are Democrats.

The Spirit of Corruption and Greed is no respecter of race, creed, or party affiliation!

Solution to the gun violence problem: Ban liberals. Not guns.

And just how bad are the big cities, which tend to be liberal? Here’s the Atlantic, with a spiffy map that compares the rate of gun murders to foreign countries and finds

• If it were a country, New Orleans (with a rate 62.1 gun murders per 100,000 people) would rank second in the world.
• Detroit’s gun homicide rate (35.9) is just a bit less than El Salvador (39.9).
• Baltimore’s rate (29.7) is not too far off that of Guatemala (34.8).
• Gun murder in Newark (25.4) and Miami (23.7) is comparable to Colombia (27.1).
• Washington D.C. (19) has a higher rate of gun homicide than Brazil (18.1).
• Atlanta’s rate (17.2) is about the same as South Africa (17).
• Cleveland (17.4) has a higher rate than the Dominican Republic (16.3).
• Gun murder in Buffalo (16.5) is similar to Panama (16.2).
• Houston’s rate (12.9) is slightly higher than Ecuador’s (12.7).
• Gun homicide in Chicago (11.6) is similar to Guyana (11.5).
• Phoenix’s rate (10.6) is slightly higher than Mexico (10).
• Los Angeles (9.2) is comparable to the Philippines (8.9).
• Boston rate (6.2) is higher than Nicaragua (5.9).
• New York, where gun murders have declined to just four per 100,000, is still higher than Argentina (3).
• Even the cities with the lowest homicide rates by American standards, like San Jose and Austin, compare to Albania and Cambodia respectively.

Strange. All those places tend to be hives of Progressive ideals. Even big cities like Houston and Phoenix tend to lean left. Perhaps we should simply restrict those who vote Democrat from owning guns. Oh, wait, in most of those areas they are restricted, along with everyone else. Except criminals.

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Obama’s fascist economy

ObamaCare is not about health care, per se; rather, it is intended to dictate to business and the individual what insurance they must buy, what health care they are allowed to access, and ultimately what behavior is acceptable — all at the whim of a centralized bureaucracy.  The Dodd-Frank Bill firmly establishes the concept of “too big to fail” for certain financial institutions, thereby subjecting them to the absolute control of the state while allowing, and in many cases forcing, others to cease doing business, as well as instituting lending and operating policies determined by government regulators.

The Obama regime has thrown out the rule of law when it comes to the rights of private investors by their actions against the bondholders of Chrysler and General Motors, as well as forcefully taking over and operating both companies and others as quasi-private entities.  They have chosen which businesses will succeed or fail by the taxpayer financing of companies such a Solyndra among a score of others, others of which have failed.  The Obama appointees to the National Labor Relations Board are now dictating to companies where they can locate and are attempting to force their workers into unions without secret ballots.

The mantra of public-works spending is alive and well and constantly being used to justify massive government spending.  The demonization of the rich has taken on a new role in the Obama era, as the rich are now being singled out as responsible for all the problems created by the Obama policies and are a potential target for retaliation.  The current proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy and the so-called “Buffett Tax” are solely an attempt to rally the people into a unified anger over the need to punish a perceived foe — in order to shift the spotlight off the failure of the current government.

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8 Tips for Catholic Men

I don’t often write specifically for a male audience, but I believe our gender has some particular and unique challenges to staying on the right path.

I hope to offer some useful insight which will help you, me and other Catholic men be more aware of these self-created challenges and take the necessary steps to overcome them.

Let me start by listing a few general observations about men which may be uncomfortable to read and acknowledge:

We often struggle with humility and let our pride and egos get in the way.

We like to be in control.

We can be stubborn and inflexible to change.

Our identities are often wrapped up in our careers.

We struggle to ask others (especially the Lord) for help.

We are often inclined to action when reflection and discernment are more appropriate.

We are usually uncomfortable with open displays of emotion (ours and others).

We may be overly concerned about the opinions of others (What will our buddies think?)

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God-like questions for Catholics?

Q: God-like questions for Catholics?

I use to be a strong Catholic but no more. I’m happy without religion.

A lot of you will say “God always was” and other of this non-sense. What was before God and heaven?

Also, i have a slight-counter response to that. If the bible says “man (and woman) were created in God’s image” then wouldnt that mean that God was also created like us humans? Maybe not literally, i know, but as a figure of speech.

Also, if we ‘were’ created in his image, then wouldn’t God, have also had experienced and known the feeling of being corrupt, sad, happy, or confused? Where do the emotions we as humans feel, come from?

A: The image of God is grace, and the likeness of God is love. Mankind was initially created full of grace, and with an unlimited potential for love.

Eternity has no beginning and no end. God, who dwells in the eternal realm with his angels and his saints, doesn’t either. Odds are, prior to Adam’s fall from grace, Eden was merely the earthly extension of God’s eternal realm.

God is the “Uncreated First Cause” of all things. He is not in any way affected by human emotions, flaws, laws, or corruption of any kind, and God is patently incapable of committing any type of sin.

Like it or not you’re still Catholic by virtue of your baptism. God still loves you, and you’re not going to get off that easily.

Those who understand the authentic Christian faith know that it’s about perfect freedom. It has nothing at all to do with control.