Pope Francis has become a veritable progressive rock star. He lambasts the one percent, cares about the poor, and he’s recently addressed the climate change issue head on. Last week, in Bolivia, the pontiff did it once again when he attacked global consumerism
The Pope said that today’s “throwaway” consumerism culture “is a mentality in which everything has a price, everything can be bought, everything is negotiable. This way of thinking has room only for a select few, while it discards all those who are unproductive.” Regardless of how much one possesses or produces, everyone has value, the Pope said. He also stated that the mindless obsession and pursuit of wealth is a “spiritual cancer.”
Pope Francis is a staunch humanist. Salon noted that in 2002 he delivered a sermon decrying dirty and illegitimate ways the one percent gets rich. “Let’s not tolerate the sad spectacle of those who no longer know how to lie and contradict themselves to hold onto their privileges, their rapaciousness, and their ill-earned wealth,” the pontiff said as an Argentine cardinal. This statement applies to oil tycoons, Wall Street thugs, and corporate-funded politicians.
Unlike his predecessors, Pope Francis is a progressive champion of the people. He has waged a global fight against inequality, he’s spearheading the issue of climate change, and he believes in the value of every person on the planet.
