A bipartisan congressional resolution that would honor Pope Francis before his potential appearance in Philadelphia next year may not be acted upon because of Republican worries that the pontiff is perceived as being "too liberal," The Hill reports.
House Resolution 440 aims to "congratulate Pope Francis on his election and recognize his inspirational statements and actions," but according to one Republican backer of the legislation, the resolution is dead because Pope Francis is "sounding like Obama. (The pope) talks about equality — he actually used the term 'trickle-down economics,' which is politically charged."
Republicans are upset because of comments the Pope made concerning the free market. Last November, for example, Francis published his Evangelii Gandium, in which he noted that "(a)s long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world’s problems or, for that matter, to any problems."
He also specifically attacked President Ronald Reagan’s signature economic policy, "trickle-down theory," writing that "(s)ome people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system."
Pope Francis is "Too Liberal" to be Honored by Congress
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