Pope Preaches Morality, Not Politics

The Pope was not being political when he was in the U.S. In fact, he was preaching the morals that most religions practice and preach around the globe. Liberals have mistaken many of Pope Francis’s viewpoints and therefore believe he is a Democrat and follows liberal political philosophies. This is not true, just as it is not true that more liberals will convert to Catholism based on the Pope’s beliefs.

The Pope preaches the sanctity of life and is anti-abortion. This is certainly not a view held by many feminists, liberals, or Democrats alike.

The Pope defended marriage between a man and women. Sure, Pope Francis said “if someone is gay and searches for the lord, and has good will, who am I to judge”. But when the Pope was in the U.S. he secretly met with Kim Davis, the disgruntled county clerk in Kentucky, defending her actions of not handing out marriage licenses to gays. Once again, this is hardly a liberal point of view based on their outrage over Davis’s actions.

Pope Francis talked about caring for the less fortunate. All religions talk about caring for the poor or others who struggle. Liberals feel they have a monopoly on this issue – They care for the poor and Republicans and conservatives do not. They believe the Pope is agreeing with their socialistic plans of spreading the wealth from the rich to the poor. They believe the Pope is agreeing with their views that owning a home is a right and healthcare and education should be free for all. However, the Pope never endorsed any such plans or theocracy. Pope Francis may not have that much faith in capitalism from his upbringing in Argentina, but if he saw how it generates jobs then he would become a believer. If he saw how lower taxes and strong economic growth create jobs and lift people from poverty, he would not argue with that result. In other words, the Pope would not disagree with any approach that solved the poverty issue on this planet – conservative or liberal.

Democrats think that Pope Francis sides with them on immigration. Once again, this is not entirely true. If immigrants coming to the U.S. are poor and needy and our economy and poverty programs are unable to pull them out of poverty then what is the point. The Pope may want America to take in more immigrants and grant amnesty to those who are here illegally, but the Pope already understands that the U.S. is already the most generous nation on the planet and is doing more than most countries around the globe.

Pope Francis talked about caring for our environment and leaving the world a better a place than when we entered. Once again, all religions preach this moral code. This does not mean climate change is manmade or is even occurring. It means curbing pollution and doing what is right. The Pope understands among the most needy people in the world, climate change is their least popular issue. After all, if you want to care for the needy it really does not make sense to pour billions of dollars into climate change philosophies.

The Pope understands that the Catholic religion, if it were company, would be the most profitable company on the planet. Yet, with all those profits, the Catholic religion can only do so much to thwart poverty, ease the flow of immigration and refugees, protect the environment for later generations, and stop abortions. You can have lots of manpower and money and still merely make a small dent in these issues. In fact, the Church and Pope realize it is important to prioritize what issues are most important. And that is not easy to do.

Pope Francis is not a liberal or conservative, but merely a person preaching moral behavior that is no different than the philosophy of any other religion.