From Raw Story: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/26/popes-liberal-views-on-capitalism-freaking-out-conservative-catholics-in-congress/
By Travis Gettys
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Catholic Republican lawmakers are rattled by Pope Francis, whose recent comments have shaken up assumptions about their church and its relationship to their political party.
While church leaders have for years challenged the Republican Party on some social issues, including the death penalty and immigration, conservatives have generally marginalized their concerns as insignificant or irrelevant.
But the new pontiff has attracted too much attention with his call to focus less on divisive social issues and more on helping the poor and vulnerable.
Pope Francis has drawn sharp criticism from the hugely influential Rush Limbaugh and other conservatives for his remarks on the unrestrained free market and “trickle-down” economics, which he dismissed naïve and unsupported by the facts. Limbaugh branded those statements as “pure Marxism,” but Sarah Palin was less harsh, admitting only that the pope’s statements sounded liberal to her, and her former 2008 running mate offered mixed reviews.
“His economic perspective I’m not particularly enamored with, but his advocacy for the poor, his lifestyle example, his more modern outlook on social issues — I’ve been very impressed,” said Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).
Rep. Peter King (R-NY) attended Catholic school as a youngster and graduated from Notre Dame’s law school, said he found the pope’s reference to “trickle-down economic” demeaning and off-putting, but he said the pontiff’s message should be considered in context.
Continue reading at: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/26/popes-liberal-views-on-capitalism-freaking-out-conservative-catholics-in-congress/
