Pope Francis describes conservatism as a “suicidal attitude” of those “who cling to something”

Pope Francis, a figure of worldwide influence, has reinforced a label that some critics have given him because of his political leanings: Pope Karl, as in Karl Marx.

In an upcoming interview on “60 Minutes,” Pope Francis will echo former President Barack Obama's sentiments, both taking a critical stance toward conservative Americans.

“The conservative is someone who clings to something and doesn't want to see beyond that. It's a suicidal attitude,” the pope told CBS News anchor Nora O'Donnell. “Because it's one thing to take into account tradition, to take into account situations from the past, but it's quite another to be locked inside a dogmatic box.”

The Pope addresses his conservative critics in the church.

“The conservative is someone who clings to something and doesn't want to see beyond that. It's a suicidal attitude,” says Pope Francis. This Sunday on 60 Minutes, the Pope sits down with @NorahODonnell. https://t.co/mEN4CWeXMW pic.twitter.com/HPYgVm4kIp

— 60 minutes (@60minutes) May 16, 2024

The irony of such a close statement is beside the point, as the Holy See addresses those who share a different political belief than their own.

In 2008, while speaking at a San Francisco fundraiser, Obama said something very similar about traditional white Americans in rural settings.

“You go to these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone for 25 years and nothing has replaced them,” he said. “They went through the Clinton administration and the Bush administration, and every successive administration has said that somehow these communities will regenerate and they haven't.”

“And it's no wonder they gang up, cling to guns or religion or dislike of people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or trade as a way to explain their frustrations.” , Obama continued.

CBS touted the segment as “the first time a pope has given an in-depth one-on-one interview on a U.S. broadcast network.” In a press release, CBS said the pope “spoke candidly with O'Donnell about the wars in Israel and Gaza, Ukraine, and migration crises around the world and on the US southern border.”

And its “deep commitment to inclusion.”

“The 87-year-old Argentine-born Pope, the first to be called Francis and the first from the Americas, is known for his dedication to the poor and marginalized, and for being the most unconventional head of the Church in living memory recent”. said the network.

“The broad conversation also touches on the Church's handling of its own sexual abuse scandals; Francis' deep commitment to inclusion in the Church; the reaction against his papacy from certain corners of American Catholicism; and an exploration of his thinking about surrogacy,” CBS added.

The interview was conducted on April 24, and will air as part of “60 Minutes” on Sunday, May 19.

Here's a quick sampling of responses from social media users who disagree with Pope Karl Francis, as seen in X:

The Pope is a Marxist.

— Neptune (@Ops_Overlord) May 16, 2024

“If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the good words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching that agrees with godliness, he is angry with vanity and understands nothing.” 1 Timothy 6:3-10

— Megan Basham (@megbasham) May 17, 2024

The Catholic Church is supposed to hold on to something. This attitude leads to eternal salvation.

— matt dooley (@mdooley) May 16, 2024

Imagine forsaking the scriptures and Christ for the temporary acceptance of the world.

wow

— Tony Kinnett (@TheTonus) May 17, 2024

What is the suicide of not wanting to be exposed to error and sin? What is the suicide of wanting to maintain a higher standard?

— Lepanto Institute (@LepantoInst) May 17, 2024

Thank you, but I will continue to cling to eternal truths. But I appreciate your interest in theology.

— Jock Jams Nationalism (@rothbard_celine) May 16, 2024

I'd rather have a suicidal attitude and be with God than be open to the evils of the world to hang with the Devil.

— Dr Strangetweet or How I Learned to Love RT (@lone_rides) May 16, 2024

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The longest-serving writer for BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a teenager. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.

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