The Catholic Church is getting religion

Orwell wrote , “You cannot be a Catholic and a grownup”. He also observed that the Vatican was quite comfortable with the Fascist dictators of the 1930's including Franco, who Orwell was fighting on the front lines in the Spanish Civil War. But here comes Pope Francis who has placed the poor at the center of his papacy. He speaks of creating”a poor church for the poor”. It's a far cry from his predecessor Benedict, the Hitlerkinder from Germany. He is attempting to rehabilitate the Church, bringing it in line with the “liberation theology” that has long been denounced as Marxist. In the letters of Paul to the Church of Rome, he wrote: “Never be condescending but make a real friend of the poor”. But America is not the kind of place that produces a Mother Teresa or an Albert Schweitzer. In a Pew Research poll released on May 12 the so-called Nones (no religious affiliation) now outnumber Catholics 22.8% to 20.8%. We're a managerial society showing generosity and compassion through programs such as Food Stamps, Head Start and other government assistance. Cost-cutting Republicans are the only pro-hunger group. We have problems in our cities. Crime is rife and violence can explode out of nowhere. The recession is far from over. Workers of the world despair, you have nothing to lose but your livelihoods. A quote from a Joyce Carol Oates novel says: “If we are poor, must we be vicious?” Not if Pope Francis can carry the day. He'll be in Washington this September to remind us what Christianity is all about.