Thought for the Day
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
So, those who supplied weapons to Charles Martel, St. Louis IX, King John Sobieski, and Don Juan of Austria, among others, were either non Christian or hypocrites. As the United States prepares to choose between a prolife President and an advocate of child murder, we receive this bit of wisdom. Sad.
Although I do think it is a right for every person to have a gun for self defense purposes, I honestly believe from a religious standpoint, the only weapon a Pope should have is a Rosary. No body guards, no armored car.
No Pope. Such is the world we live in, which most certainly is not Christ’s Kingdom, as He told us.
I’m beginning to believe the man has never had a thought enter his head that wasn’t shallow or conniving.
Does be mean like the Carlyle Group that is the biggesst contributor to his favorite phony Catbolic, Joe Biden
What possible context could he have for this? Is it like when…what was it, the AP reporter who doesn’t speak Spanish or Italian was reporting on the Pope meeting some Spanish-speaking rep?
K, the quote as offered is Reuter’s sub-header, not what he said.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-turin-arms-idUSKBN0P10U220150621
They did the usual offer-tiny-quotes-with-their-interpretation trick, it’s the same speech as the “why didn’t they just bomb the train tracks” comment, when Turkey was busy being pissed that the Pope didn’t approve of the Armenian genocide.
Quote:
Francis issued his toughest condemnation to date of the weapons industry at a rally of thousands of young people at the end of the first day of his trip to the Italian city of Turin.
“If you trust only men you have lost,” he told the young people in a long, rambling talk about war, trust and politics after putting aside his prepared address.
“It makes me think of … people, managers, businessmen who call themselves Christian and they manufacture weapons. That leads to a bit a distrust, doesn’t it?” he said to applause.
Vaguely remembered it being discussed here; found it, which let me find the thing on the Vatican site:
http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2015/june/documents/papa-francesco_20150621_torino-giovani.html
Here’s how the Vatican translates what I quoted above:
And thank you, Sara, the theatre fan. Thank you. “I think of Jesus’ words: Give your life”. We have spoken about this now. “Often we have a sense of doubt in life”. Yes, because there are situations that make us think: “But, is it worthwhile to live like this? What can I expect from this life?” Let’s consider the wars in the world. A few times I have said that we are experiencing the Third World War, but piecemeal. Piecemeal: there is war in Europe, there is war in Africa, there is war in the Middle East, there is war in other countries…. But, can I have confidence in such a life? Can I trust world leaders? When I go to vote for a candidate, can I trust that he won’t lead my country into war? If you only trust in mankind, you have lost!
It makes me think one thing: people, leaders, entrepreneurs who call themselves Christians, and manufacture arms! This gives rise to some mistrust: they call themselves Christians! “No, no, Father, I don’t manufacture them, no, no…. I only have my savings, my investments in arms factories”. Ah! And why? “Because the interest is somewhat higher…”. And being two-faced is common currency today: saying something and doing another. Hypocrisy…. But we see what happened in the last century: in ’14, ’15, in ’15 in fact. There was that great tragedy in Armenia. So many died. I don’t know the figure: more than a million certainly. But where were the great powers of the time? They were looking the other way. Why? Because they were interested in war: their war! And those who died were people, second class human beings. Then, in the ’30s and ’40s the tragedy of the Shoah. The great powers had photographs of the railroads that took trains to the concentration camps, such as Auschwitz, to kill Jews, and also Christians, also Rom, also homosexuals, to kill them there. But tell me, why didn’t they bomb that? Interest! And shortly after, almost contemporaneously, there was the Russian Gulag, under Stalin…. How many Christians suffered, were killed! The great powers divided Europe among themselves like a cake. So many years had to pass before reaching a “certain” freedom. There is that hypocrisy of speaking of peace and producing arms, and even selling arms to this one who is at war with that one, and to that one who is at war with this one!
I understand what you are saying about doubts in life; today too, when we are living in the throw-away culture. Because whatever is not economically useful is thrown away. Children are thrown away, because they are not conceived or because they are killed before they are born; the elderly are thrown away, because they are not needed or are left there, to die, a sort of hidden euthanasia, and we don’t help them to live; and now young people are discarded: think of that 40% of young people who are without work. It is in fact a waste! But why? In the global economic system, why is the god of money at the centre instead of man and woman, as God wants. Everything is done for money.
Foolish, and rambling, but not really what Reuters wanted him to have said.
I suppose, but even as a filthy protestant there seems to be something weird about the Pope being protected from martyrdom. Not that I’m saying he needs to be eager for it – I could understand some bodyguards for crowd control.