The Pope’s Conundrum - Galatians 1:8

 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. - Galatians 1:8

    Sunday, May 24th, 2015 - The New York Times, “Pope’s Focus on Poor Revives Scorned Theology.” The headline caught my immediate attention so I paid the price to see if the story supported the headline. It did. What exactly was this “scorned theology?” I read the article a second and a third time just to make sure I wasn’t taking it out of context. I wasn’t.
    After discussing the Catholic Church’s beatification of Archbishop Oscar Romero, a much loved martyr to the Salvadorian people, the article delved into the subject of Liberation Theology - the much maligned modern heresy of subjecting the Gospel to the desire of whichever “oppressed class, race, ethnicity, etc.” could shout the loudest. In this case it is the Pope, living in the Vatican’s splendor, who is shouting and oddly enough his particular plea is for “the poor.” Now before I am accused of being insensitive let’s take the words of the writers themselves and see exactly what they were saying.
    “Liberation theory includes a critique of the structural causes of poverty and a call for the church and the poor to organize for social change. Mr. Lee said it was a broad school of thought: Movements differed in different countries, with some more political in nature and others less so. The broader movement emerged after a major meeting of Latin American bishops in Medellín, Colombia, in 1968 and was rooted in the belief that the plight of the poor should be central to interpreting the Bible and to the Christian mission.”
    Allow me to break this down. “The broader movement emerged after a major meeting of Latin American bishops,” not some small radicalized sub-sect but the broader movement! I continue - “rooted in the belief,” not some nuanced little doctrinal difference but a root belief that “the plight of the poor should be central to interpreting the Bible (i.e. the Gospel) . . .” hermaneutically extrapolated to insist that the poor are central to the meaning and purpose of Holy Scripture. “ . . . and to the Christian mission.” That would be in direct opposition to the Great Commission as given to us by Jesus Christ, Himself!
    I suppose it would be in the interest of clarity if we first defined what the Pope means by “the poor.” Are we speaking about the poor, as in “poor choices,” or the impoverished? Because there is a decided difference. There are millions of people who have less than others simply because of the poor choices they have made (and continue to make). Whether it be pregnancy out of wedlock, disproportionately high drop-out rates, drug and alcohol addiction, or anti-social and criminal behavior there are many reasons that account for poverty. So are these the people the Pope is pleading for? And exactly what is it the Pope hopes to achieve, especially in an environment where the church is unwelcome in the secular arena? Does he really believe that by polluting and muddying the true message of the Gospel he can bring an end to poverty? “For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.” - Matthew 26:11.
    And why stop at poverty? Why not preach Black Liberation Theology, Gay Liberation Theology, the Right To Choose Theology, or Feminist Theology? If he’s going to corrupt the message of the Gospel why stop at liberation theology? Is he seeking political power for the Catholic Church? “Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.’” - John 18:36.
    There is but one Gospel and that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, brought unto mankind for salvation through Christ and Christ alone. There is no economic equality promised. There is no political power promised. There is no health and wealth promised. There is only salvation by grace through Christ, our Lord and Savior! Any other promise is a false teaching - a false gospel.
    This pope is nothing more that a false teacher and we have been warned that false teachers would come among us. And we know how we are to respond to such wolves in sheep’s clothes - “As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.” - Galatians 1:9.
    There was a time when the popes who spoke for the Catholic Church conducted their nefarious business with at least a modicum of propriety. Apparently those days are over.