Sackcloth and Ashes

Pat dons Sackcloth and Ashes as he muses over the socialist teachings of Pope John Paul II. He does some very honest soul searching. In particular,

One of the primary difficulties I find with Catholicism in practice is the antipathy driven into one since baptism against wealth - or the accumulation thereof. The Church's approach to wealth is one that concords with leftist thinking. Yet, I have found that money can be a powerful tool for charity but moreso general well being and happiness - in this life. The Church seems to have taken the leftists view that wealth is finite and that if one man is rich another must necessarily be poor. That to me is a fundamental misunderstanding of wealth creation.

Pat is right in that Capitalism is a prodigious generator of wealth, but the problem is in the distribution of that wealth. Pat is also right the totality of wealth is not a constant. He is also right that money performs a useful social function of allowing people to meet their needs, and that proper use of money can alleviate the suffering of others.

In a Capitalist economy, the concentration of wealth can lead to greater wealth through investment in more productive machinery. This concentration of wealth is essential to the growth of capital. Distributing wealth amongst people dilutes this dynamic and leads to stagnation and even regression of the economy. This is the logic of Capitalism. And this logic leads people against charity because it reduces the accumulation of capital.

Pat continues by asking

And where is the Church's concern for the downtrodden and oppressed when it speaks against the military liberation of oppressed people's under the guise of "A Just War"? I do not recall Christ speaking against the Romans and if there were ever a more imperialistic state than Rome it certainly is not the USA. As a matter of fact, I recall Christ curing a Roman Centurions slave and saying to render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar. Again, this is because Christs' kingdom is not of this world!

Pat is honest in admitting there is a gulf between the teachning of the Church and what the USA did. For Pat, the USA was right and the Church wrong in this matter. (The Romans were circumspect in their imperial ambitions: the USA wants to control the whole world and outer space. And it is true that Christ did not incite rebellion against the Roman occupation of Palestine.) Thus, Pat is lead accomodate these contradictions by splitting life in twain: the material and the spiritual. This is, of course, the common response when the needs of Capitalism collide with Christian teachings: the Christian must give way by confining themself to spiritual matters.

In conclusion,

But enough for now. I'll think over "The Gospel of Life" and try to leave my baggage behind. Certainly Pope John Paul II was a very great and good Pope. My arguments are against certain ingrained socialist tendencies my Church has which I feel mislead people into error.

Yes Pat, there are these inconvenient teachings of the Church. What to do about them? Ignore them and hope that the next Pope has the good sense to recognise that Capitalism is correct, and the Church is wrong? And of course, the error is that there has to be another way besides Capitalism.