15000 people to greet Pope Francis at White House

The White House is opening its back lawn to some 15,000 people for the arrival of Pope Francis next week. Then media reports suggested Francis’ declaration was a progressive move; or perhaps it was a signal of a forthcoming change in church doctrine.

No measure, however, created as much of a stir as Philadelphia’s and the Secret Service’s decision to make Pope Francis’ outdoor mass a ticketed event.

It was neither. Priests in the USA have long received (by way of their bishops) the faculty to forgive grave sins like abortion by first removing the threat of ex-communication.

One more thing the women are excited about: Pope Francis, born in Argentina, will talk to them in Spanish when he visits the Catholic school in Harlem.

The fear feels justified, especially to those Catholics who are well-versed in (or are old enough to remember) the theological fissures that widened within the faith in the wake of Vatican II and continue to spark disagreement between traditionalists and progressives.

Even when there are disagreements, Rhodes said, “we welcome the pope’s voice and leadership”.

He isn’t about to revise the church’s basic teachings on these matters, but he fervently wants to change the topic of conversation. Pope Francis will bless them before the Mass. Many Americans, who tend to associate capitalism with the right and anti-capitalism with the left, are unaware that numerous earliest attacks on laissez faire economics came from conservatives, and that the Catholic Church has been a key player in developing a conservative rebuttal to liberal capitalism. They take pride in every stitch.

The Catholic Church’s type of conservatism opposes financiers who place the pursuit of profit over the needs of maintaining a peaceful, stable community. He said he expected some sort of policy announcement to be released.

Polls say the Holy Father is a hit with the country’s 76 million Catholics. But in this case, it’s about the roots of our economic system.