Dual Loyalties

Dual loyalties or contrasting fealty have persistently entered political contests and issues. For example, in the 1960 presidential election, John F. Kennedy the eventual victor, often faced criticism from detractors stating that his Roman Catholic faith could, at times, interfere with the secular administrative and regulatory pursuits of the presidency. In response and in the linked story, Kennedy would declare, “I am the Democratic Party's candidate for president, who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me.”

This same situation resurfaced in 2012 with Mitt Romney, contesting Barack Obama. Romney is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS). The church a restorationist, nontrinitarian denomination, belongs to Mormonism and claims to be Christian, yet, nontrinitarian means they do not believe in The Holy Trinity  (Father-Son-Holy Spirit) as accepted by traditional Christian orthodoxy. There are several other doctrines and challenges where the faiths collide. A trip to Utah can frequently bring into view where LDS doctrine and secular state and local government have intermingled.

While Catholic priests in the United States are growing ever more conservative, they are also pessimistic about the church’s future, despite having the largest number of members by three times, when comparing it to the second largest denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention. More and more of these priests in the Coalition for Canceled Priests claim that they have been unfairly removed from the ministry by liberal bishops – who ultimately receive these marching or axing orders from the most progressive pope in history.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, aka Pope Francis, seems to talk as much about, or perhaps more aptly advocate for, anthropogenic climate change, than he does about matters of religion or, more pertinently, salvation through Catholicism. If the next generation of Catholic hierarchy decides to bestow him sainthood, assuming he gains the necessary criteria demanded by that status, I would call him St. Francis of a CC, pronounced much in the same manner as the 12 century, St. Francis of Assisi – but the CC would represent climate change.

Pope Francis has brought his Argentinean background of politics and creed fully into the Vatican. In 1930 a military coup in Argentina succeeded and brought in socialism. From then on political instability and economic decline have plagued Argentina’s future. They have recovered somewhat, but certainly nowhere near the extent of their earlier 1900’s successes, advances, and growth. The government resulting from the 1930 takeover banned political parties, suspended elections, and shelved the nation’s constitution.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was raised and grew under this banner of leftist liberalism and socialist policy. Advocation of anthropogenic climate change comes as a natural byproduct of his ideology and politics, but not of any learned science. Other than the issue of abortion, the Pope has tilted very much in the direction of leftist collectivism.

In an October 11, 2020 “Ted Talk” on climate change, Francis said, “The current economic system of market capitalism has failed and is unsustainable.”

Another alarmist using the ruse of climate change for political and economic influence and not any crisis of weather. Whether or not one believes in creationism or evolution, or a co-existence of the two, it certainly should not be but a personal question or belief, yet for the Pope it should be quite obvious.

However, in 2014, speaking on the topic Pope Francis said, “When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything. But that is not so. The Big Bang, which today we hold to be the origin of the world, does not contradict the intervention of the divine creator but, rather, requires it. Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation, because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve.” While perhaps not quite as blatant as Toronto’s United Church of Canada minister Gretta Vosper, who is an atheist, preaches from that perspective, and has been accepted by the church, the stance of the Pope is certainly not orthodox or conventional in standard Catholic or Christian teaching.

Whether one is religious or believes in any deity, is up to that individual, however, one would think that the leader of any religious denomination would focus on persuading the people to connect with the crusade. Francis’ line of thought and background makes him out to be a religious rebel, but also a chief fear-monger. As the new saying goes, perhaps guys like the Pope need to “stay in his own lane”. It seems unimaginable to me that the human who is considered the most pious and devout on earth would have political issues that so clearly supersede his life’s theological works.