Why Is the Pope Promoting Sin?

Here’s another attack on Pope Francis.

No, by condemning “inequality,” he is not promoting sin. If envy is one of the seven deadly sins, so is avarice. And, if Cain’s envy of Abel was the second sin, Eve’s coveting the apple was the first. On that argument, a call for redistribution of wealth is morally neutral. It may encourage envy, but it discourages greed.

I agree with the author of the piece that “Poverty matters; injustice matters. Mere [financial] inequality is beside the point.”

However, a distinction between financial inequality and absolute poverty probably works only in the First World. Pope Francis is responsible for a larger organization than that, and is himself from the Third World. For most people in most places, extreme financial inequality automatically means that some do not have the basic necessities for a dignified life.

In that circumstance, there is indeed a moral obligation, according to Catholic teaching.

In any case, having a great deal more wealth than your neighbour is soul-destroying. As Jesus said, "a rich man can no more enter heaven than a camel can pass through the eye of a needle."