Issue 8, Vol 11: 11 July 2014 In this issue:
The Closet Communist The Closet Communist OJ Fourie The Leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis the 77 year old pontiff, have in recent articles and interviews labelled communists as closet Christians. Reason for this has been, as indicated by the Pope, that communists have stolen the flag of Christians which is the poor. Poverty is the centre of the Gospel according to the Pope. The role of Christians are to help the poor, sick and the needy and these are represented by the working class for which communists fight for on a daily basis. Communists have appropriated the Gospel's central message of poverty. Referring to Biblical passages about the need to help the poor, the sick and the needy, the Pope says: "Communists say that all this is communism. Sure, twenty centuries later. So when they speak, one can say to them: ‘but then you are Christian'." The Pope's strong condemnation of income inequality and free markets shows how much has changed in the Catholic Church since the Cold War, from being anti-Communist to being anti-Capitalist. On capitalism Pope Francis for his continues criticisms of unbridled capitalism have prompted many to label him a Marxist. For many he sounds like a Leninist when he criticise capitalism and calls for radical economic reform. Since his election in March 2013, Pope Francis has often attacked the global economic system as being insensitive to the poor and not doing enough to share wealth with those who need it most. Pope Francis calls on "greedy" bankers to establish a stricter ethics code, and stop getting rich through financial market speculation. He is against the practice of hedging as ‘intolerable' equating it to stealing food from the poor. "It is increasingly intolerable that financial markets are shaping the destiny of people rather than serving their needs, or that the few derive immense wealth from financial speculation while the many are deeply burdened by the consequences," Pope Francis said at an investors' ethics seminar at the Vatican. Specifically, the Pope denounces the practice of betting on the price of commodities such as corn, meat, and rice, which can drive up food prices and trigger periods of starvation in some parts of the world. "Speculation on food prices is a scandal which seriously compromises access to food on the part of the poorest members of our human family," the Pope said. The Pope calls for an end to this "scandal" and says that finance institutions should serve the interests of all mankind, and not just wealthy and privileged individuals. Pope Francis has been more vocal than any other Pope on the modern superstructure of wealth, which in his first major published work as a Pope, The Joy of the Gospel, he slammed as a "new tyranny" and called on the rich to share their wealth. In the same work he equated not sharing wealth with the poor to stealing. Pope Francis has repeatedly cited the pitfalls of capitalism, decrying global income inequality and equating low-wage labour to a form of slavery. Disparity in wealth means less opportunity and less freedom for people at the bottom of the socio-economic scale. In 2013, the Pope issued his first "apostolic exhortation," declaring a new enemy for the Catholic Church: modern capitalism. He couldn't be much clearer. The Pope has taken a firm political stance against right-leaning, pro-free market economic policies, and his condemnation appears to be largely pointed at Europe and the United States. His explicit reference to "trickle-down" economic policies is just the beginning: throughout 224 pages on the future of the Church, he condemns income inequality, "the culture of prosperity," and "a financial system which rules rather than serves." Taken in the context of the last half-century of Roman Catholicism, this is a radical move. Fifty years ago, around the time of the Second Vatican Council, Church leaders quietly declared a very different economic enemy: Communism. But Pope Francis' communitarian, populist message shows just how far the Church has shifted in five decades and how thoroughly capitalism has displaced communism as a monolithic political philosophy. Pope Francis says, the global economy needs more government control; an argument that would have been unthinkable for the pope just 50 years ago. The Pope indicates that it is vital that government leaders and financial leaders take heed and broaden their horizons, working to ensure that all citizens have dignified work, education and healthcare. Cde Chris Hani defined Socialism as: "Socialism is not about big concepts and heavy theory. Socialism is about decent shelter for those who are homeless. It is about water for those who have no safe drinking water. It is about quality healthcare for all, it is about a life of dignity for the old. It is about overcoming the huge divide between urban and rural areas. It is about a decent education for all our people." "How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points?"Pope Francis asked an audience at the Vatican. The global economic crisis, which has gripped much of Europe and America, has the Pope asking how countries can function, or realize their full economic potential, if they are weighed down by the debts of capitalism. The Pope says: "as long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation, and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world's problems or, for that matter, to any problems." Pope Francis calls for better politicians to heal the scars that capitalism made on society. The SACPs Financial Sector Campaign has brought us a credit amnesty; we now also have progressive legislation in the form of a National Credit Act and we have the National Credit Regulator (NCR) which is now a vigilant monitor on the mainstream financial players. We have seen already the good work the NCR has undertaken in dealing with illegal activities of the Mashonisas. On Palestine In May of this year, Pope Francis delivered a powerful boost of support to the Palestinians during a Holy Land pilgrimage, repeatedly backing their statehood aspirations, praying solemnly at Israel's controversial separation barrier and calling the stalemate in peace efforts "unacceptable." While the Pope mingled warmly with his Israeli hosts, his trip to Bethlehem included powerful images as he expressed sympathy and solidarity with the Palestinians. "I am with you," he told a group of Palestinian children at a stop in Bethlehem's Deheishe refugee camp. He also held a private lunch with five Palestinian families who say they have been harmed by Israeli policies. Palestinian officials hailed the Pope's decision to refer to the "state of Palestine." In its official programme, the Vatican referred to President Mahmoud Abbas as the president of the "state of Palestine," and his Bethlehem office as the "presidential palace." He pointedly called Abbas a "man of peace." Standing alongside Abbas at a welcome ceremony, Pope Francis declared: "The time has come to put an end to this situation, which has become increasingly unacceptable." He said both sides needed to make sacrifices to create two states, with internationally recognised borders, based on mutual security and rights for everyone. He urged both sides to refrain from any actions that would derail peace. He called for a "just and lasting solution" so that Israelies and Palestinians may live in peace. He said Israel deserves peace and security "within internationally recognised borders," while the Palestinians have a "right to live with dignity and with freedom of movement" in their own homeland. The YCLSA have continuously criticised apartheid Israel in their inhumane dealings with the people of Palestine and call for an independent state of Palestine. The SACP indicated the following in a press statement that was released on the 23rd September 2011: "We reaffirm our long-held view for an independent, viable, sovereign Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital. The SACP calls for widespread support of this position by all our people, the working class and the poor, to end the apartheid bloodshed; the psychotic Zionist settler activity and more towards ending a manifestly sustained political and economic warfare against Palestine." In an article written by the SACP's spokesperson, Cde Alex Mashilo, Israel: Apartheid, expansionist colonialism of a special type, he writes as follows:"Drawing from the South African lesson, the key question in view of all of these as we proceed, is how we would today characterise Israel, its occupation of Palestinian territories and relationship to the Palestinian people. There is no doubt Israel is a Zionist apartheid state." Pope Francis refers to Communists as closet Christians because of what they believe in and for what they stand for. Noting what the Pope has expressed on issues of capitalism and Palestine, its maybe just right that we can refer to the Pope as a closet Communist. OJ Fourie YCLSA National Committee Member -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. 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