The Far Right’s War on Pope Francis

While Pope Francis still has done nothing meaningful to hold those in the Catholic Church hierarchy who participated in the cover up of priestly sex abuse of children and youths, his statements that indicate a possible shift in the Church's hard line dogmatism have been enough to send the far right into spittle flecked convulsions.  Far right extremists from Rush Limbaugh on down have accused Francis of being a communist and other a threat to capitalism.  Some of the attacks have become so feverish that one has to wonder - if you didn't already - about the sanity of the attackers.  A column in the Washington Post looks at the attacks being hurled at Pope Francis.  Here are highlights:

Mindless skeptics don’t like the inclusive, nonjudgmental message of Pope Francis. But Adam Shaw, a news editor at FoxNews.com, wins the prize for stunning leaps of logic and rhetoric. The headline says it all: “Pope Francis is the Catholic Church’s Obama — God Help Us.”

Like Obama, Francis is unable to see the problems that are really endangering his people. Like Obama he mistakes the faithful for the enemy, the enemy for his friend, condescension for respect, socialism for justice and capitalism for tyranny.

Once upon a time, Christian leaders were deemed above reproach by social conservatives. And if said leader were the pope, then heaven help the person (read liberal) who criticized him, his pronouncements or the tenets of the Catholic Church. Not anymore. Shaw’s astonishing post shows that not even the pope is off limits to the fury of the far right. The pope’s words against the downside of capitalism, not to mention his exhortation to not “obsess” over social issues at the expense of the church’s greater message, make him sound more like a follower of the teachings of Jesus Christ than many of his holier-than-thou critics. 

Reza Aslan and Mary Curtis hammer away at the Pope’s critics here and here. Michael Gerson does so more obliquely today here.

“Limbaugh is right. Somebody did get to Pope Francis,” Aslan wrote last month referring to radio right-winger Rush Limbaugh. “It was Jesus.” After a gem like that, there’s nothing more I could add to his critique.

Again, my verdict on Francis is still out, but it is entertaining to see the far right underscoring just how opposed to the true Gospel message it really is.  Greed, hate, bigotry and callousness towards the needy are the tenants of the far right.