Plutocratic Piety

'Tis the season for plutocrats to feel put upon by statements made by Pope Francis to the effect that they need to worship the dollar a little less.  The latest billionaire whiner is the founder of Home Depot and greed head extraordinaire Ken "The Profit" Langone, who feels that the Pope's criticism of trickle down capitalism is misguided.  Sadly for the Catholic Church, The Profit's in charge of raising private funds to restore New York City's St. Patrick's Cathedral, so he has some extortion power leverage with the Church hierarchy. Enter New York's pedophile priest protector Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who was on the receiving end of The Profit and his friends' criticism of the Pope.  Now, one would think that trying to strong arm the Pope would draw an angry rebuke from the good Cardinal, but after all, he needs his cathedral "restored."  So he soothingly assured The Profit that the Pope's message was taken the wrong way.

The Profit and his friends may not only be in the wrong pew, they may be in the wrong church.  After all, there are plenty of megachurch "gospel of prosperity" outfits that will soothe their feelings and make them feel like the chosen ones.  Hopefully, the church that they land with can, in exchange for some cash, expunge this statement in the Gospels by some liberal Marxist:

23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”  -- Matthew 19: 23-24

Papal Quote of the Day

"Exclusion ultimately has to do with what it means to be a part of the society in which we live; those excluded are no longer society’s underside or its fringes or its disenfranchised – they are no longer even a part of it. The excluded are not the 'exploited' but the outcast, the 'leftovers'. In this context, some 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. Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting." --  Pope Francis, in today's "apostolic exhortation," is making his stand as the Pope of the Excluded.

Wow.  Imagine how popular the Catholic Church would be today if, say, 40 years ago, his predecessors would have taken up the cause of the weak, sick and "excluded," as opposed to defending pedophile priests and wealthy patrons. It's only a matter of time before right-wing Catholics (the so-called "Catholic" League, etc.) express dismay that the Pope actually cares about the poor.  Also, snowbilly grifter Sarah "Winky" Palin will likely issue her own Papal Bull (and we know she can dish the bull) identifying the Pope as a Commie dupe.