Pope Francis sounds too much like Obama to be honored by Congress, Republican says

[meegbear]

Source: RawStory.com

A bipartisan congressional resolution that would honor Pope Francis before his potential appearance in Philadelphia next year may not be acted upon because of Republican worries that the pontiff is perceived as being "too liberal," The Hill reports.

House Resolution 440 aims to "congratulate Pope Francis on his election and recognize his inspirational statements and actions," but according to one Republican backer of the legislation, the resolution is dead because Pope Francis is "sounding like Obama. (The pope) talks about equality — he actually used the term 'trickle-down economics,' which is politically charged."

Republicans are upset because of comments the Pope made concerning the free market. Last November, for example, Francis published his Evangelii Gandium, in which he noted that &quot a)s long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world’s problems or, for that matter, to any problems."

He also specifically attacked President Ronald Reagan’s signature economic policy, "trickle-down theory," writing that &quot s)ome people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system."

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/07/30/pope-francis-sounds-too-much-like-obama-to-be-honored-by-congress-republican-says/

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The resolution states that Pope Francis should be honored for, among other things, being the first pontiff from the Americas, as well as “his commitment to economic justice and improving the lives of the poor, and his outreach to individuals from all walks of life have been universally praised and are living examples of Jesus Christ’s message.”

Of the 221 co-sponsors of the legislation, only 19 are Republicans. Democratic Representative John Larson (CT) sent House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) a letter last Friday requesting a vote on the resolution.

<snip>

PATHETIC

[Itchinjim]

1. Good lord....

[theHandpuppet]

2. Perhaps the Republicans need to be reminded...

... that on the issues of rights for women and LGBTs, they actually have much in common with the Pontiff.

[HoosierCowboy]

3. Pewee!

After licking the boots of the Church for so many years for votes, the GOP has suddenly has a bad taste in their mouths.

[NastyRiffraff]

4. Here's the key reason:

He also specifically attacked President Ronald Reagan’s signature economic policy

Attacking St. Ronnie! Heresy! Burn him at the stake!

[freshwest]

44. That's it all right.

[onehandle]

5. I sincerely hope the Pope's security detail is on the ball when he is here in Philly.

Some GOPNRAteahadist might think him an easier target than President Obama.

Also, this is more proof that the GOP 'Christians' in Congress... ain't.

[blm]

6. Republican congress would honor Ayn Rand if they thought they could get away with it.

http://www.alternet.org/paul-ryan-ayn-rand-loving-satanist-and-romney-cult-gops-religion-woes

[freshwest]

45. Well it was claimed that Clarence Thomas and Paul Ryan made their staff read her books!

That's quite an honor. Just sayin'

[d_r]

7. There is something interesting in this

GOP loves to control language. You know where they learned that. For example, there was a post on DU about how they have made "feminist" a dirty word. They have done it with "liberal." Think of how they use terms like "pro-life" (and many other words in that debate).

They are saying that they don't want the words "trickle-down economics" used. Watch that in the future. They are trying to frame that concept in a new way. It must be on their cheat sheets. They've realized it is a losing proposition.

[MisterP]

29. they'll be back to damning "Papists" like it was 1962 again soon enough ...

why, somma them are Eye-TALIAN or Irish!

[WestCoastLib]

8. Conservatives....

If he's not talking about where and how to ejaculate, they don't give a shit what he has to say.

[dickthegrouch]

9. How about we take the possibility away completely?

Oh Wait.... the constitution did that in 1776

If the pope is not an "Establishment of religion", I don't know what is.

[Swede Atlanta]

15. Do you mean Congress shouldn't have any symbolic honoring of the Pope?

I don't think a statement recognizing the Pope and his support for the poor and inequality is the same as establishing a religion.

This has been done routinely by Congress whether it was for Desmund Tutu (the South African Anglican Bishop), to Nelson Mandela to the Dali Lama, etc.

It has nothing to do with establishing a religion but rather showing some respect for a person of influence who exhibits certain moral values. We can debate if he has done enough around the child abuse scandal in the church but there are areas in which I think he is giving the Church a new face. As a Lutheran, the papacy is the reason we are no longer Catholics. So I don't take this view because I am a Catholic.

As for GOP opposition they wouldn't honor Jesus Christ himself if he was to visit because Jesus gave free health care, fed the poor, talked about how it would be more difficult for a rich man to go through the eye of a needle than to enter heaven, etc. Jesus was a community organizer who surrounded himself with prostitutes and other "bad" people. They were "his" people.

Congress would never approve of such a Jesus. They only like the Ayn Rand Jesus that is pasty white with long flowing hair and blue eyes.

[theHandpuppet]

18. Personally speaking, a man who doesn't support the basic human rights of women and gays...

... isn't someone I would honor in Congress. Regarding poverty -- full equality for women, which includes reproductive rights, is essential to alleviating global poverty. Health care includes sex education, access to contraception and abortion, etc. In light of these issues, should Congress really honor someone whose opposition to these principles runs so deep that he expressed his support for the national Right-To-Life March and the virulently anti-gay March for Marriage? Whose Bishops and Archbishops have filed scores of lawsuits against the contraception mandate, and who have condemned every gay marriage victory in the U.S. (most recently the Virginia decision just a couple of days ago?).

No, I think not. I can and will continue to fight against poverty, for immigration reform, health care et al, but not at the expense of human rights for women and gays and Pope Francis could do the same. Perhaps he could take a page from Desmond Tutu's playbook:

Retired South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu has apparently joined the ranks of gay rights supporters in the church. On Friday, he said he would rather go to hell before going to a heaven that “condemned homosexuality as a sin.”

“I would not worship a God who is homophobic, and that is how deep I feel about this,” Tutu said at a United Nations’ gay rights campaign function in Cape Town, South Africa. “I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. 'No,' I would say. 'Sorry. I mean, I would much rather go to the other place.'”

Tutu likened gay rights to the civil rights battle for blacks and apartheid.

“I am as passionate about this campaign as I ever was about apartheid,” Tutu said, as reported by Agence France-Presse. “For me, it is at the same level.”

[dickthegrouch]

19. Yes, that's exactly what I mean

There seems to be a common misinterpretation of the language used in 1776.

"Establishing a religion" is not quite what the constitution prevents in the vernacular of 1776.

The amendment says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion...."

It does NOT say
Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of a religion....

"an establishment of religion" can be any creation, artifact, or tenet of any religion. Therefore, IMHO, Popes, Creeds, codes of conduct, certain books, etc are all establishments of religion and are forbidden as subjects of law.

[ISUGRADIA]

28. 1789

The Bill of Rights was not proposed until 1789.

[dickthegrouch]

37. Oops, Thanks /nt

[NYC Liberal]

36. This is what James Madison, "Father of the Constitution", had to say:

"The establishment of the chaplainship in Congress is a palpable violation of equal rights as well as of Constitutional principles. The danger of silent accumulations and encroachments by ecclesiastical bodies has not sufficiently engaged attention in the U.S."

He opposed even having a chaplain in Congress.

[Stonepounder]

33. WEll, of course they wouldn't honor Jesus Christ.

He was a dark-skinned Middle-Easterner who didn't speak English and who refused to go along with the established religion(s) of the day.

[Aristus]

17. A congressional resolution like this doesn't have the force of law.

Simply expressing collective Congressional admiration for the Pope doesn't mean that he will have executive power over the United States.

[mindwalker_i]

10. I absolutely expected this to be satire

And then it is actually real.

[EC]

11. These guys had better realize that the Pope

is popular and they aren't. Don't they see how this will be played in the elections? Bye, bye Catholics for the GOP vote. I don't believe all Catholics are one issue voters like the Evangelicals.

[VWolf]

12. So, a Catholic sounds too much like a "Muslin" ???

M'kay .....

[JoePhilly]

31. Clearly Obama's conspiracy is working on many levels.

He even got the pope to convert.

[BumRushDaShow]

13. Please proceed....

with pissing off a group of the electorate who your idiotic party courted during your wedge-issue campaigning.

[SansACause]

14. He's acting too much like Jesus

Can't have that. Remember, Jesus wants you to have material wealth. it says so in the Bible.

[riqster]

22. Camels were much smaller then.

And needles much larger.

[DBoon]

26. And what rich guy...

... wants to enter heaven through a portal that smells like camel poop

[riqster]

27. True. Better to be in Hell with their friends.

[Beartracks]

16. Repubs say "I'm not a scientist" about climate, but when it comes to the economy...

... why don't they have the balls to remind voters, "I'm not an economist" -- as in, "I'm not an economist, so I don't really have a rational basis to support free-market top-down tax-the-poor-and-succor-the-rich policies."



Just honor the Pope, idiots. He's a visiting head of state, if nothing else.

===========================

[silverweb]

20. Shameful!

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]They're disgusting slaves of the corporatocracy -- and they presume to represent the people of this nation??

TeaGOPers are nothing but power-drunk, corrupt, petulant brats!

[radhika]

21. Wonder what the Catholic Council of Bishops will do now?

They are usually reliable allies of patriarchal policies in Congress when it comes to reproductive issues.

Will they take a stand when the duly elected patriarch of the RCC is dissed by those politicos?

[theHandpuppet]

24. Receiving him as a visiting dignitary...

... is quite different than honoring him with a Congressional resolution. I wouldn't have a problem with the former.

[bklyncowgirl]

30. I imagine many of them privately agree with the GOP.

Pope Frank has caused much concern in conservative Catholic circles. These guys got their red hats from John Paul and Benedict thanks to their uncompromising positions on sex and gender issues. A pope who seems to care more about poverty and dragging the name of the Church out of the mud will not be a popular guy--especially if action actually follows his words on the sexual abuse issue--a scandal which many of these fine American prelates worked hard to cover up.

[yurbud]

23. in other news, Republicans ban public displays of the Sermon on the Mount for promoting socialism

[BadGimp]

25. Holly Crap

Eom

[dembotoz]

32. we need to use this

[Sunlei]

34. /lol!! republicans say the darndist things!

[NYC Liberal]

35. Pope Francis is not committed to economic justice so long as he opposes equal rights for ALL,

and so long as he opposes women's rights, contraception/birth control, and the right to choose. Economic justice is intrinsically tied to equality and social justice. Without the latter two, there can be no hope of economic justice.

Pope Francis sounds like a bigoted teabagger with some of the hateful invective he's thrown around -- particularly his assertions that marriage equality is an evil Satanic plot, that adoption by gay couples is "child abuse", that women have no right to make decisions about their own bodies, that being gay is a mental disorder.

Obama was roundly criticized here for having anti-gay, anti-choice Rick Warren at the inauguration in 2009. Yet now people here want us to formally HONOR a man that is just as hateful, and much more dangerous by way of his MUCH larger congregation?

[theHandpuppet]

39. To tell you the truth, NYC Liberal

After a while, I wonder if some people really give a damn.

[NYC Liberal]

40. I do too. However, I refuse to shut up and will continue to

post in the Francis boosting threads so long as they are posted in LBN/GD.

[theHandpuppet]

41. Me as well.

[geretogo]

38. Truth to a Rethuglican is like the cross is to a Vampire . It burns their skin .

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

42. So let me get this right

The Republicans are against economic justice, improving the lives of the poor, helping individuals from all walks of life and being an example of Jesus Christ's message. Hmm

[Cha]

43. Repubs not honoring the Pope because they're jealous he sounds too much like President Obama..

Wonder how a staunch "conservative" Catholic would like that?

[DallasNE]

46. Republicans Have Made Huge Inroads With Catholic Voters Over The Last 40 Years

On the single issue of abortion. But Catholics have a long history of being progressive on other social issues though these have taken second fiddle to the issue of abortion. Now that there is a Pope that has a more diversified message it is causing Republican to have heart burn. But this is a huge mistake to challenge a Pope based on traditional Catholic teachings as it will cause many Republican to now reverse course. Here Republicans are throwing the baby out with the bath water and that is never a good idea.