Pope Francis damns Brexit
by Archbishop Cranmer:
Pope Francis has written another encyclical, Fratelli Tutti. It isn’t a great theological tome; indeed, it could easily be a series of religio-political blogposts on current events. Much of the media coverage is focusing of his criticism of populist leaders who appeal to people’s “basest and most selfish inclinations” and exploit people “for their own personal advantage”:
159. “Popular” leaders, those capable of interpreting the feelings and cultural dynamics of a people, and significant trends in society, do exist. The service they provide by their efforts to unite and lead can become the basis of an enduring vision of transformation and growth that would also include making room for others in the pursuit of the common good. But this can degenerate into an unhealthy “populism” when individuals are able to exploit politically a people’s culture, under whatever ideological banner, for their own personal advantage or continuing grip on power. Or when, at other times, they seek popularity by appealing to the basest and most selfish inclinations of certain sectors of the population. This becomes all the more serious when, whether in cruder or more subtle forms, it leads to the usurpation of institutions and laws.
But this is really nothing new: Socrates and Plato were decrying political selfishness and base inclinations c500 years before there was a pope (if Peter was the first). The political animal tends to pursue an ethic of self-satisfaction, which afflicts church as much as state. Indeed, it may be observed throughout history that the Roman Catholic Church has at times exploited people’s culture under a theological banner for its own advantage or continuing grip on power. May one have a populist pope?
Does the usurpation of EU institutions and laws constitute populism?
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