Pope Francis: Ideological colonization a 'blasphemy against God'

[Michie]

Pope Francis on Tuesday once again lambasted what he called "ideological colonization" which he described as both cultural and spiritual, intolerant of differences, and capable of persecuting even those who believe in God.

Continued below.
Pope Francis: Ideological colonization a 'blasphemy against God'

 

[Basil the Great]

Sometimes it is not always easy to understand exactly what Pope Francis is saying, but I give him credit for speaking his mind and especially for emphasizing our duty to help the poor. I never thought that I would see a Pope in my lifetime that I would like more than John Paul II, mostly due to his changing the Catechism on the death penalty issue, but I find that I am warming up to Pope Francis even more than I did to John Paul the Great.

 

[LivingWordUnity]

Sometimes it is not always easy to understand exactly what Pope Francis is saying, but I give him credit for speaking his mind and especially for emphasizing our duty to help the poor. I never thought that I would see a Pope in my lifetime that I would like more than John Paul II, mostly due to his changing the Catechism on the death penalty issue, but I find that I am warming up to Pope Francis even more than I did to John Paul the Great.

Pope St. John Paul II didn't change what it says in the Catechism on the death penalty. The first and second editions of the CCC both say the same thing on capital punishment.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church on Capital Punishment:

"2267 Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.

"If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.

"Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm - without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself - the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity 'are very rare, if not practically non-existent.'"

 

[Basil the Great]

All I know is that news reports back then said that he directed that the catechism be updated to reflect his teaching on the death penalty. If I am wrong, then I stand corrected. However, are you sure that the catechism prior to John Paul II included the last paragraph? By the way, I just read where Pope Francis gave a speech last month which sounded even more negative towards capital punishment and he said that he would like to change the catechism. I absolutely love this Pope......