Papacy and War

This article was initially written by taskeinc in early 2014, and re-posted in February 2015. The reason for the revision is based on Pope Francis and his visit to America in September 2015.

What's so enigmatic about the Pope's visit is that the media and Catholic adherents are fawning all over the man, calling him "Holy Father," when such an epithet has no relevancy with Mr. Bergoglio being able to make a difference in our financially manipulated, discombobulated world. A world that is quickly headed for self-destruction, propelled by the avarice of a few extremely malevolent families, abhorrent politics, war, the Vatican, and the Roman Catholic Church.

The definition of "Papacy" is the "office, dignity, or jurisdiction of the pope"; "the system of ecclesiastical government in which the pope is recognized as the supreme head."

The Pope is called the "Vicar of Christ," in other words, he is considered the "earthly representative of God or Christ."

The "earthly representative of Christ." Wow! If there is an ounce of truth to Christianity and the Roman Catholic Church, then such a lofty position would most certainly equate to monumental power and influence. Would you agree?

The man in this position, according to the Christian Church, is the human representative of God! Talk about clout, from a secular perspective, the Pope should be second to none, right?

To capture the theme of this article, here are a few excerpts from Dr. King's speech, "Why I Am Opposed to the War In Vietnam."

"I see this war as an unjust, evil, and futile war." "My conscious leaves me with no other choice but to speak out." ~ MLK

Where is your conscious Jorge Mario Bergoglio?

"The time has come for America to hear the truth about this tragic war." ~ MLK

Pope Francis, a man with your spiritual stature and global influence, how can you remain silent about illegal wars worldwide?

"Rationalizations and the incessant search for scapegoats are the psychological cataracts that blind us to our sins." MLK

The "Vicar of Christ" should have no part in rationalizing and trying to find scapegoats for war. War is wrong, no matter how you look at it. A human representative for God would be cognizant of this fact.

We are a society gone mad on war, says Dr. King. "America would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitating its poor, so long as adventures like Vietnam [Iraq] continue to draw men, money, and skills like some demonic destructive suction tube."

It is estimated that America spent $500,000 to kill each enemy soldier in the Vietnam War, while only $53 was spent for each person classified as poor.

Most of the fifty-three dollars paid the salaries for people who were not considered poor.

What do you think about those stats, "Vicar of Christ?" And I'm pretty sure the cost to kill our 'make-believe' enemies today has tripled.

Where are you Mr. Bergoglio? Your silence amounts to colossal betrayal.

In a period of moral crisis, if you choose to maintain neutrality, you not only betray yourself but unborn generations will suffer because of your refusal to get involved; and this is applicable to everyone.

It is as true today as it has been for the past three centuries, the greatest purveyors of violence in the world are the American Government and the European Parliament. How can Pope Francis sit idly by and do nothing? He should be shouting at the top of his lungs for change.

Why doesn't he do so? If Martin Luther King vehemently spoke out against war, should not the Vicar of Christ do likewise?

Anjeze Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, aka Mother Teresa, suggested, "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."

Pope Francis should have a similar sentiment, don't you think?

As a global society, we are disregarding a plethora of impending problems and denying their reality.

What's tragically odd about the human species is that we have innovative ways to ignore the obvious and deceive ourselves, even when we are faced with the very real possibility of a global calamity.

Individual capitalist of the Western world invest huge sums of money in Asia, Africa, and South America, only to take the profits out with absolutely no concern for the social betterment of these countries. How is this just, Mr. Bergoglio?

"A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order and say of War, this way of settling differences, is not just." ~ MLK

From the book, "Rule By Secrecy," author Jim Marrs states, "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968 only after he turned his dynamic oratory and organizing skills to protesting the Vietnam War."

Marrs uncovers disturbing evidence that the "real movers and shakers of the world collude covertly to start and stop wars, manipulate stock markets, maintain class distinctions, and even censor the news."

Pope Francis does not have the speaking ability, nor the organizing skills, and certainly not the moral character of Dr. King, but he has the finances along with the support of the Roman Catholic Church and the Vatican to bring about change.

Wisdom, justice, love, and equality, should be the calling card for Pope Francis, but it's not. He can talk about it and may broach the subjects from time to time, but he's not vociferous enough; he's not using his temporal platform to make a difference.