-----Original Message-----
From: t byfield <tbyfield at panix.com>
>if you scoured the writings of just about any prolific commentator,
>you could find a handful of excerpts on the basis of which you could
>claim that this person is 'economically radical.'
"Handful of excerpts"-- without claiming the Pope is a communist -- which of course he is not -- the excerpts are from lengthy encyclicals that are supplemented by similar statements by church leaders around the world. On there face, they are not as radical as you may be, or even as I may be, but it is silly to claim that they are really convergent with neoliberal doctrine.
Again, while the Church upholds private property (as many versions of socialist do), private property is seen not as a right but as a way to serve the common good. It is circumscribed by collective control and duty in use of that property. Getting away from the Pope, here is the official catechism on the role of private property:
"I. The Universal Destination and the Privarte Ownership of Goods
2402 In the beginning God entrusted the earth and its resources to the common stewardship of mankind to take care of them, master them by labor, and enjoy their fruits.[186] The goods of creation are destined for the whole human race. However, the earth is divided up among men to assure the security of their lives, endangered by poverty and threatened by violence. The appropriation of property is legitimate for guaranteeing the freedom and dignity of persons and for helping each of them to meet his basic needs and the needs of those in his charge. It should allow for a natural solidarity to develop between men.
2403 The right to private property, acquired by work or received from others by inheritance or gift, does not do away with the original gift of the earth to the whole of mankind. The universal destination of goods remains primordial, even if the promotion of the common good requires respect for the right to private property and its exercise.
2404 "In his use of things man should regard the external goods he legitimately owns not merely as exclusive to himself but common to others also, in the sense that they can benefit others as well as himself."[187] The ownership of any property makes its holder a steward of Providence, with the task of making it fruitful and communicating its benefits to others, first of all his family.
2405 Goods of production - material or immaterial - such as land, factories, practical or artistic skills, oblige their possessors to employ them in ways that will benefit the greatest number. Those who hold goods for use and consumption should use them with moderation, reserving the better part for guests, for the sick and the poor.
2406 Political authority has the right and duty to regulate the legitimate exercise of the right to ownership for the sake of the common good.[188]"
>or maybe read up
>on the fine examples of stoogery, quislingdom, and explicit fascism
>he's zealously advocated with his innovative fast-track canonizations.
>or his fanatical imposition of doctrinal order on groups and tenden-
>cies within the church that tend toward effecting progressive change
>rather than merely compensating for the current regime.
Of course the Church is authoritarian, unlike any radical groups you may like in the present or historically. If you want to argue by stating the obvious, that's fine, but I was actually interested in discussing the less obvious and less discussed.
By the way, if you are going to shock me by mentioning that the Catholic Church is pro-life, I noticed that in a footnote somewhere as well :)
--Nathan Newman