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| Evo Morales present pope with hammer and sickle Jesus |
We, the
organizers of this blog, have always explained that the Catholic church is
the main church of capitalism. It has more than 1 billion members. It has an
estimated $150 billion in assets, and this is leaving out its worldwide physical infrastructure
and priceless works of art worth billions. It has tens and tens of thousands of
full time organizers. Popes, cardinals, bishops, priests, nuns etc. Think about
how many Catholic churches, schools, buildings and properties there are in your
area.
Over centuries the Catholic church assisted sections of the European colonial and capitalist powers, especially Spain and Portugal, and it itself participated directly in, the looting of the wealth of Latin America and the slaughter of its peoples. It participated with its blessing and physical structure, its symbols, its crosses, its full timers, intimidating uniforms etc, its threats of "hell" unless its ideas and orders were obeyed, in the slaughter of and enslavement of tens of millions of the indigenous people of Latin America and of African people brought from Africa as slaves.
More recently whenever an opposition to the pro capitalist policies developed within the Catholic church, known as Liberation Theology, the Catholic hierarchy, of which this so-called pope was a part, worked with US imperialism in crushing this movement and in the murder of many of its members. Now this pope comes crawling back to Latin America to so-called apologize.
In their confusions millions of workers and peasants greeted him. But they made clear that they were not unthinking people. Morales the President of Bolivia met him at the airport. Morales was wearing a white shirt open at the neck and a dark jacket bearing the photo of the revolutionary Che Guevara. He was met by many wearing Che Guevara T-Shirts. Many of the people who turned up with Morales up to greet him also wore Che Guevara T Shirts. Bolivia's President presented him with a crucifix carved into a hammer and sickle background. You could see the restrained rage on the pope's face as he had to accept it or ruin his tour from the beginning. That is one present that will not get pride of place in the Vatican. Well done Senior Morales. The importance of symbols has not been lost on you.
In Bolivia he said the following: "I humbly ask forgiveness, not only for the offense of the church herself, but also for crimes committed against the native people during the so-called conquest of America." Now you have to be very careful when you hear a man with a position of power in such a huge organization speak. Every word is carefully examined before hand so as no hostages are given to fortune. Look at this one. He does not say there was a conquest of Latin America he says there was a "so-called conquest". Yes giving himself and the church a bit of wiggle room there.
Of course there was a conquest and this was carried out with mass slaughter and with the Catholic church assisting in this mass slaughter. And the other thing. When he was apologizing for this "so-called" conquest and descending in his huge jet to the poverty stricken countries of Latin America he did not bring back any of the gold and wealth that his organization and its associates, Spanish and Portuguese colonialist stole in this conquest. He left that at home in Vatican city securely protected by the Swiss guard. Talk is cheap.
But to go on to other things. This pope has recently made a major statement on the world situation. He criticizes "unbridled capitalism," not capitalism but unbridled capitalism. He says that "unbridled capitalism is the dung of the devil." He is not you see against capitalism but "unbridled capitalism." Again the carefully studied words. Just like the Catholic church is not against poverty. Poverty it says will be always with us. Not always with the hierarchy of the Catholic church and the capitalist class it will not. So he is not against capitalism only "unbridled capitalism."
This pope has also said that the non stop wars of the last decades are but the "fragmented third world war."
This pope in his recent statements has also criticized those who say climate change does not exist. Global warming he says "is a major threat to life on earth," and "climate change is a crisis." The investment arms of the Catholic church are being called on to campaign for disinvestment from the fossil fuel industry. How many members of the Catholic church know that their local church which they visit regularly and to which they give their hard earned dollars and cents have investment departments handling billions of dollars.
These investment departments have been in discussion with major capitalist organizations such as Exxon Mobile etc to try and convince them to change their ways. It is like a human being trying to convince a snake not to eat a mouse. Not only can they they not communicate but the snake only exists because it eats mice and other small creatures.
At an Exxon Mobile annual meeting a Vatican spokesperson asked the CEO of that company about its policies on climate change and called on him to get "an expert on this issue on the board". 90% of the world's scientists say there is climate change and global warming and that life on earth is threatened and the best the Catholic hierarchy can do is ask the mega corporations who are responsible for this to get an expert on their boards!!!! They already have experts on their board, experts in making profits, and that is what their boards are for. The CEO answered the Vatican's spokesman by saying: "We on purpose choose not to lose money." No ambiguity there. To hell with life on earth. Profits rule okay.
You can see how seriously this pope is taking the crisis of capitalism, his system. He is calling on it to pull back from its excesses so it does not destroy itself and life on earth.This is what these statements are about. He and the more conscious wing of the
Catholic bureaucracy are trying not only to get its own house in order by trying to take on its sex crimes but also trying to sound the alarm to capitalism that it is in danger of going too far and bringing the whole system down around its ears. He is trying to save capitalism from itself.
Of course there is one thing they will not touch and that is their special oppression of women, their belief that women are inferior and cannot be allowed to hold leading positions. This will give them a lot more heartaches in the future. They are losing their base in many areas because of this. Think of formerly holy Catholic Ireland now being the first country to vote in a popular referendum for same sex marriage.
This pope is trying to learn some things from the past. When the Bolsheviks took state power they generalized the crisis of the lives of workers and peasants into a few short words, a few short demands. These were "Bread, Peace, and Land." This pope was pushing his version of this when he was in Latin America. His version is: "Labor, Lodging and Land." Not bad. The anti capitalist movement could learn a thing or two here. What is our equivalent of Bread Peace and Land, of Labor, Lodging and Land. We will have to work on this.
On the week this pope was in Latin America world capitalism trembled. This demonstrated how right he is to be worried about his system. The Chinese stock market plunged, the New York Stock Market had to be closed down as it was plunging, the Greek Euro crisis continued, United Airlines had to ground its fleet, the detailed information of over twenty million Americans was hacked into and this information stolen. Even the head of the FBI was hacked into and his information stolen.
Capitalism managed to recover from this stumble for the time being. But there will be another and another and at some stage the entire system will plunge. This is what this pope is worried about. When this happens there will have to be a revolutionary organization of tens and hundreds of millions to decisively and ruthlessly choke the life out of capitalism and establish an international democratic socialist world. If there is a world of unimagined wealth and security for all can be established. If there is not capitalism will cling on and as if it does it will, driven by its mad criminal lust for profits and power, destroy life on earth as we know it. And this will include Vatican City and all the other cities and peoples of the world.
Over centuries the Catholic church assisted sections of the European colonial and capitalist powers, especially Spain and Portugal, and it itself participated directly in, the looting of the wealth of Latin America and the slaughter of its peoples. It participated with its blessing and physical structure, its symbols, its crosses, its full timers, intimidating uniforms etc, its threats of "hell" unless its ideas and orders were obeyed, in the slaughter of and enslavement of tens of millions of the indigenous people of Latin America and of African people brought from Africa as slaves.
More recently whenever an opposition to the pro capitalist policies developed within the Catholic church, known as Liberation Theology, the Catholic hierarchy, of which this so-called pope was a part, worked with US imperialism in crushing this movement and in the murder of many of its members. Now this pope comes crawling back to Latin America to so-called apologize.
In their confusions millions of workers and peasants greeted him. But they made clear that they were not unthinking people. Morales the President of Bolivia met him at the airport. Morales was wearing a white shirt open at the neck and a dark jacket bearing the photo of the revolutionary Che Guevara. He was met by many wearing Che Guevara T-Shirts. Many of the people who turned up with Morales up to greet him also wore Che Guevara T Shirts. Bolivia's President presented him with a crucifix carved into a hammer and sickle background. You could see the restrained rage on the pope's face as he had to accept it or ruin his tour from the beginning. That is one present that will not get pride of place in the Vatican. Well done Senior Morales. The importance of symbols has not been lost on you.
In Bolivia he said the following: "I humbly ask forgiveness, not only for the offense of the church herself, but also for crimes committed against the native people during the so-called conquest of America." Now you have to be very careful when you hear a man with a position of power in such a huge organization speak. Every word is carefully examined before hand so as no hostages are given to fortune. Look at this one. He does not say there was a conquest of Latin America he says there was a "so-called conquest". Yes giving himself and the church a bit of wiggle room there.
Of course there was a conquest and this was carried out with mass slaughter and with the Catholic church assisting in this mass slaughter. And the other thing. When he was apologizing for this "so-called" conquest and descending in his huge jet to the poverty stricken countries of Latin America he did not bring back any of the gold and wealth that his organization and its associates, Spanish and Portuguese colonialist stole in this conquest. He left that at home in Vatican city securely protected by the Swiss guard. Talk is cheap.
But to go on to other things. This pope has recently made a major statement on the world situation. He criticizes "unbridled capitalism," not capitalism but unbridled capitalism. He says that "unbridled capitalism is the dung of the devil." He is not you see against capitalism but "unbridled capitalism." Again the carefully studied words. Just like the Catholic church is not against poverty. Poverty it says will be always with us. Not always with the hierarchy of the Catholic church and the capitalist class it will not. So he is not against capitalism only "unbridled capitalism."
This pope has also said that the non stop wars of the last decades are but the "fragmented third world war."
This pope in his recent statements has also criticized those who say climate change does not exist. Global warming he says "is a major threat to life on earth," and "climate change is a crisis." The investment arms of the Catholic church are being called on to campaign for disinvestment from the fossil fuel industry. How many members of the Catholic church know that their local church which they visit regularly and to which they give their hard earned dollars and cents have investment departments handling billions of dollars.
These investment departments have been in discussion with major capitalist organizations such as Exxon Mobile etc to try and convince them to change their ways. It is like a human being trying to convince a snake not to eat a mouse. Not only can they they not communicate but the snake only exists because it eats mice and other small creatures.
At an Exxon Mobile annual meeting a Vatican spokesperson asked the CEO of that company about its policies on climate change and called on him to get "an expert on this issue on the board". 90% of the world's scientists say there is climate change and global warming and that life on earth is threatened and the best the Catholic hierarchy can do is ask the mega corporations who are responsible for this to get an expert on their boards!!!! They already have experts on their board, experts in making profits, and that is what their boards are for. The CEO answered the Vatican's spokesman by saying: "We on purpose choose not to lose money." No ambiguity there. To hell with life on earth. Profits rule okay.
You can see how seriously this pope is taking the crisis of capitalism, his system. He is calling on it to pull back from its excesses so it does not destroy itself and life on earth.This is what these statements are about. He and the more conscious wing of the
Catholic bureaucracy are trying not only to get its own house in order by trying to take on its sex crimes but also trying to sound the alarm to capitalism that it is in danger of going too far and bringing the whole system down around its ears. He is trying to save capitalism from itself.
Of course there is one thing they will not touch and that is their special oppression of women, their belief that women are inferior and cannot be allowed to hold leading positions. This will give them a lot more heartaches in the future. They are losing their base in many areas because of this. Think of formerly holy Catholic Ireland now being the first country to vote in a popular referendum for same sex marriage.
This pope is trying to learn some things from the past. When the Bolsheviks took state power they generalized the crisis of the lives of workers and peasants into a few short words, a few short demands. These were "Bread, Peace, and Land." This pope was pushing his version of this when he was in Latin America. His version is: "Labor, Lodging and Land." Not bad. The anti capitalist movement could learn a thing or two here. What is our equivalent of Bread Peace and Land, of Labor, Lodging and Land. We will have to work on this.
On the week this pope was in Latin America world capitalism trembled. This demonstrated how right he is to be worried about his system. The Chinese stock market plunged, the New York Stock Market had to be closed down as it was plunging, the Greek Euro crisis continued, United Airlines had to ground its fleet, the detailed information of over twenty million Americans was hacked into and this information stolen. Even the head of the FBI was hacked into and his information stolen.
Capitalism managed to recover from this stumble for the time being. But there will be another and another and at some stage the entire system will plunge. This is what this pope is worried about. When this happens there will have to be a revolutionary organization of tens and hundreds of millions to decisively and ruthlessly choke the life out of capitalism and establish an international democratic socialist world. If there is a world of unimagined wealth and security for all can be established. If there is not capitalism will cling on and as if it does it will, driven by its mad criminal lust for profits and power, destroy life on earth as we know it. And this will include Vatican City and all the other cities and peoples of the world.
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