"During a speech this morning at the Vatican, Senator Bernie Sanders advocated for an end to income inequality in America, condemned Wall Street for contributing to that inequality, and called for “a truly moral economy.”
It was, in other words, the same stump speech from a different stump. That is, if you can call the
walled palatial grounds of Vatican City a stump.
Sanders was the only presidential candidate invited to a conference at the Vatican today, which was hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. According to The New York Times, Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, the academy’s chancellor, said Sanders was invited because he is “the candidate who cites the pope the most in his campaign.”
The conference marks the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s Centesimus Annus encyclical, which called for social and economic justice at the end of the Cold War. In that encyclical, the Pope spoke out against the “illicit exploitation, speculation, or the breaking of solidarity among working people” in pursuit of profit. That made the conference fertile ground for Sanders to discuss his core campaign issues, including income inequality and corporate greed.
But while Sanders is often challenged to explain the mechanics of his plans to decrease income inequality in the United States, the speech at the Vatican was a rare chance to lay out a purely moral argument for doing so.
“The issue of wealth and income inequality is the great economic issue of our time, the great political issue of our time, and the great moral issue of our time,” he said. “It is an issue that we must confront in my nation and across the world.”
Though Pope Francis wasn’t in attendance at the conference, Sanders invoked the Pope’s speeches and writings, showcasing the similarities between himself and Pope Francis.
“As Pope Francis has stated: ‘Man is not in charge today, money is in charge, money rules,'” Sanders said. “And the Pope has also stated: ‘We have created new idols. The worship of the golden calf of old has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any truly humane goal.'”
Over the last few weeks, as he’s campaigned in New York City, Sanders has made much the same argument about companies like Verizon and GE, which he says are putting profits before people by offshoring jobs at the expense of American workers.
Though Sanders is often quick to mention Hillary Clinton’s ties to Wall Street whenever the subject of the financial system comes up, at the Vatican, he curtailed such blatantly political rhetoric. Still, Clinton’s criticisms about what she perceives to be the impracticality of some of Sanders’ proposals were there in the Vatican speech, however subtly.
“I am told time and time again by the rich and powerful, and the mainstream media that represent
them, that we should be ‘practical,’ that we should accept the status quo,” Sanders said. “Yet Pope Francis himself is surely the world’s greatest demonstration against such a surrender to despair and cynicism. He has opened the eyes of the world once again to the claims of mercy, justice and the possibilities of a better world.” Wired
Bernie, or Francis, has apparently never read the 10th Commandment (or in the Catholic Bible the 9th & 10th Commandment)--
It was, in other words, the same stump speech from a different stump. That is, if you can call the
Sanders was the only presidential candidate invited to a conference at the Vatican today, which was hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. According to The New York Times, Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, the academy’s chancellor, said Sanders was invited because he is “the candidate who cites the pope the most in his campaign.”
The conference marks the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s Centesimus Annus encyclical, which called for social and economic justice at the end of the Cold War. In that encyclical, the Pope spoke out against the “illicit exploitation, speculation, or the breaking of solidarity among working people” in pursuit of profit. That made the conference fertile ground for Sanders to discuss his core campaign issues, including income inequality and corporate greed.
But while Sanders is often challenged to explain the mechanics of his plans to decrease income inequality in the United States, the speech at the Vatican was a rare chance to lay out a purely moral argument for doing so.
“The issue of wealth and income inequality is the great economic issue of our time, the great political issue of our time, and the great moral issue of our time,” he said. “It is an issue that we must confront in my nation and across the world.”
Though Pope Francis wasn’t in attendance at the conference, Sanders invoked the Pope’s speeches and writings, showcasing the similarities between himself and Pope Francis.
“As Pope Francis has stated: ‘Man is not in charge today, money is in charge, money rules,'” Sanders said. “And the Pope has also stated: ‘We have created new idols. The worship of the golden calf of old has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any truly humane goal.'”
Over the last few weeks, as he’s campaigned in New York City, Sanders has made much the same argument about companies like Verizon and GE, which he says are putting profits before people by offshoring jobs at the expense of American workers.
Though Sanders is often quick to mention Hillary Clinton’s ties to Wall Street whenever the subject of the financial system comes up, at the Vatican, he curtailed such blatantly political rhetoric. Still, Clinton’s criticisms about what she perceives to be the impracticality of some of Sanders’ proposals were there in the Vatican speech, however subtly.
“I am told time and time again by the rich and powerful, and the mainstream media that represent
Bernie, or Francis, has apparently never read the 10th Commandment (or in the Catholic Bible the 9th & 10th Commandment)--
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
Exodus 20:17
