“legitimate redistribution”

“ POPE: 'LEGITIMATE REDISTRIBUTION' OF WEALTH ^  From the May 09, 2014 12:52:30 GMT edition of the Drudge Report. Oh, jeez.  That was first thought.  I clicked and read the AP story. Oh, Jeez.  Then a second thought.  Wait.  AP?  Media  pronouncements on Pope Francis have, either through ignorance or design, been largely misinterpreted/misrepresented, with a bias toward him in agreement with the Left's hope that the meddlesome Catholic Church will finally crack.  Toe the line.  Their line.  Of course no AP writer has ever been to church, so this is all as mysterious as lady's bits. I recognize a very fine line between Christianity and, say, communism/socialism.  The line is crossed when, in the name of Christ, zealots miss entirely the nuance that is personal kindness v. state enforced dictate.  The sixties and seventies brought us Jesuits, and elected Democrats,  like Robert Drinan and, Robert John Cornell.  Radical antiwar Jesuits, the Berrigan Brothers, were a daily disgusting headline.  In 1980, Pope John Paul II unequivocally demanded that all priests withdraw from electoral politics.  I mean, how can Catholic priests be complicit with the murder of unborn children for chrissake?! Where were the Berrigans  on that? They were anything but nuanced. Anyway, my instincts were correct.  Ed Morrissey and Kathryn Jean Lopez explain here that "the longer context of Francis’ remarks this morning to UN leadership provides a much more nuanced picture of Francis’ view of economic policy — although probably not nuanced enough for libertarian ears..." Some Snippets. Pope Francis discussed “equitable development” and a spirit of generosity, and he even mentioned — near the end, almost as an afterthought — that the state should continue to play a role in this. But there’s no “demand” for broader “legitimate redistribution” by government. … In this case, the term “legitimate” is a limiting factor when redistribution is placed in the context of the Gospel story of Zacchaeus. Who was Zaccheaus? He was a tax collector — an agent of the government — who overtaxed and profited from his cheating. In Luke 19, Jesus’ visit to Jericho inspires this sinner and cheater to repent when Jesus extends an invitation to join him. What does Zacchaeus do in response? He proclaims his intent to redistribute his ill-gotten gains back to those whom he defrauded, and to willingly and privately share his wealth with the poor. ”And Zacchae’us stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold.” When Francis said “legitimate redistribution” right near the end, he was clearly condoning some kind of role for governments in assisting the poor. Perhaps he even believes in a more robust role than he lets on here. But he did offer anything on that topic here. To be sure, a demand for a more robust government role would not necessarily be inconsistent with anything he said, but it’s also not what he said. In fact, the use of the word “legitimate” here appears to play the opposite role that the AP’s headline implies — namely, the Pope is implying that not all government redistribution is “legitimate,” and that there might be unspecified limits to what it is just for the state to do. (Which is, in fact, part of the message of the earlier papal documents he cites immediately before that line.) JMJ ”