Wait...You Mean To Tell Me A Pope Is Actually Working For The Greater Good?

In the name of God, what in the world is going on here??

I’m an atheist, and I’ve never made a secret about that. That said, I’ve also always made it clear that I greatly admire those who earnestly endeavor to live their faith. If the faithful- regardless of their faith tradition- actually lived the teachings of their faith, this world would be a far better place than it currently is.

Yes, I’m an atheist, but I’m not anti-religion. On the contrary, I recognize and honor the vital role that religious faith and teachings have in so many lives. But, sadly, there are far too many of those faithful who wield their beliefs like a club. They use it to batter and bludgeon those who, like me, don’t share their beliefs.

Then there’s the Catholic Church, which from my experience represents the absolute worst of institutionalized Christianity- greed, arrogance, self-righteousness, intolerance, lack of compassion, and- well, you get the point. The fact that the Vatican is an actual nation-state represents a serious problem. The billions of dollars used to prop up the Catholic nation-state and the Church have been misappropriated from faithful Catholics worldwide, many of them desperately poor.

Catholics deserve better.

Throughout its long history, the Catholic Church has been about everything BUT the teachings of Jesus Christ. It’s been primarily renowned for its greed and pursuit of political power. As a result, corrupt Popes and officials within the Church hierarchy have made a mockery of an entity that’s supposed to represent God on Earth.

And don’t even get me started on Popes who have historically been corrupt, dissolute, and more concerned with their self-aggrandizement than the interests of the Church and the faithful.

So, long story short, it will be a cold day in Guadalajara before I’m on the same page with the Catholic Church about anything.

Or will it?

I’ve had my issues with Pope Francis. After all, he’s the leader of the Catholic Church, and he still advocates that priests must remain chaste. As any average person with a penis will tell you, that’s a virtually impossible order. And yet priests are expected to counsel married couples and those dealing with issues surrounding sexuality and gender identity? That’s like me teaching Clayton Kershaw how to throw a curveball.

That said, Francis has managed to sensibly address some very significant social issues, something his predecessors frequently avoided. He’s attacked climate change, income inequality, COVID-19, exploitative economic interests, the gun industry, social media….

He’s used his position and his moral authority to lobby for making the world a better place. That sounds radical only because his predecessors were so captivated by the funny hats and robes they got to wear that they rarely did anything marginally positive or controversial/positive.

“This system, with its relentless logic of profit, is escaping all human control.” Yeah, he nailed that one, didn’t he? Yes, unfortunately, Francis is spot on, and his point goes directly to the heart of the problem. Our current global economic system, based on greed and exploitation, benefits only a tiny number of people. The rest go begging and/or bear the impact of policies that leave our world and its people worse off than when we started.

Francis has recognized that he has a role to play in creating change. He doesn’t have a constituency to please or an election campaign to run. His base crosses borders and encircles the globe. In that sense, he’s probably the one leader with the moral authority to push a non-aggressive and non-exploitative agenda.

The Vatican has no army; they’re not about to declare war against countries that threaten the Church’s interests. Their influence and power are purely moral, making them less of an actual but more of an existential threat. Catholics are everywhere; in that sense, they’ve already invaded, so Pope Francis is merely using his influence to advocate for the people of the world.

If you’re as cynical about the Catholic Church as I tend to be, you’re probably going to look at this and wonder what’s in it for the Vatican. Of course, throughout the last millennium or so, that’s been the Church’s modus operandi. In this case, though, I don’t read anything cynical or self-interested into Pope Francis’ letter. Instead, his missive seems to be the plaintive request of someone who legitimately wants to work for the Greater Good.

The idea of the leader of the Catholic Church advocating for a Universal Basic Income is enough to get my attention. No, Pope Francis isn’t reviving Liberation Theology (somewhere warm and breezy, Saint Oscar Arnulfo Romero is giggling into his Dos Equis), but it’s a step in the right direction.

I fear that we may already be too far down the road to oligarchy and exploitation to turn this ship around. Still, we can’t throw up our hands and declare it a loss without even trying to effect change. What I see from Pope Francis is someone who understands his unique position in the world. He’s a leader whose constituency knows no borders and speaks thousands of languages. Francis is perhaps the only leader with the moral authority to speak to political and economic leaders with the support of hundreds of millions behind him.

Will any of that make a difference? Time will tell, of course, and every journey begins with a single step. Cheap clichés aside, of course, Pope Francis has a huge task ahead of him, but the fact that Catholics are taking notice might lead to political and economic leaders taking note. Once (or if) that happens, who knows where that might lead?

In case you were wondering, greed is (not) good. It’s about time the Catholic Church’s hierarchy acknowledged that and began to act on that belief.