The author reports that Pope Francis "has always rejected confrontational discourses, and his ideal is for all of us to come together in an encounter" (page 61). The author also assures us that Pope Francis "insists that it is not healthy to flee from conflicts or ignore them" (page 61). But what does he mean by "confrontational discourses"? The author does not explain this key point.
On September 30, 2016, in an address in Argentina, the author reports, Pope Francis "spoke again of a culture of encounter," the author reports (page 63). But what does the pope mean by this expression? According to the author, "the deepest foundation of an authentic culture of encounter [is that] the other person [in the encounter] has rights, but he [or she] has them not due to the economic value of what he [or she] can do, but rather due to the infinite value of his or her human dignity" (page 63). "A person's value lies in the inviolable dignity that he or she possesses as a human being" (page 63).
Justice
Attorney and activist Sister Simone Campbell of the Sisters of Social Service wrote this lexicon entry (pages 110-112).
Concerning justice, the author refers to Amos 5:24 (page 112): "let justice flow on like a river and righteousness like a never-failing torrent" (REB). Clearly Amos is not referring to legal justice. Pope Francis stands in the tradition of justice that Amos invokes. Whatever else may be said about Amos, he was not referring to God's justice in a supposed afterlife, and neither is Pope Francis. Both are referring to economic justice in this life. As I say, the pope's thought is idealistic and perhaps even utopian, and so is Amos' thought.
Periphery
Dr. Carolyn Y. Woo, the retired CEO and president of the Catholic Relief Services, wrote this lexicon entry (pages 143-146).
The author says, "In Pope Francis' urging, the periphery refers to all people who are excluded, forgotten, abandoned, shoved aside, and in the most vivid description 'thrown away'" (page 143).
Throwaway Culture
Franciscan Sister Pat Farrell (no relation) wrote this lexicon entry (pages 187-189). Deliberately using non-Marxist terminology, Pope Francis claims that economic libertarians tend to favor economic practices that produce a throwaway culture.
The author reports that Pope Francis in April 2014 rejected an economy in which "'[h]uman beings are themselves considered consumer goods to be used and then discarded'" (page 187). He styles this a "throwaway culture." Consequently, "[h]e has called for a shift that would put the economy at the service of peoples rather than a situation in which human beings and nature are at the service of money" (page 188).
The African-American educator Gary Simpkins published the relevant book The Throwaway Kids (Brookline Books, 2002). Consequently, we can see from his book that the United States today is one example of a throwaway culture. But most Americans prefer to live in denial about this tragic aspect of American culture.
Finally, I want to spell out explicitly that I am not implying that American liberals and progressives should use all of the points from Pope Francis' thought that I have highlighted here to fight the good fight against economic libertarians -- because they should not. Nevertheless, the pope's points that I have highlighted here are a service to American liberals and progressives because they can pick and choose from his points to fight the good fight against economic libertarians.
In conclusion, I admire Pope Francis for the example that he has set on the world stage, and I tend to be impressed with both his intra-church and his extra-church thought. But I do not expect that either his example or his thought will have much influence of very many practicing Catholics. However, certain key aspects of his extra-church thought might influence non-Catholics who are interested in fighting the good fight against economic inequality and economic libertarians.
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