Pope John Paul II, who helped President Ronald Reagan topple the Soviet Union, will go down in history as the anti-communist pope.
Pope Francis will be remembered as the anti-Israel pope – or, more broadly, the anti-Western pope.
The latest example of the pope’s hostility toward Israel was the creche on display in the Vatican at Christmas.
The pope prayed at the creche, carved on the West Bank, that had the baby Jesus lying on a keffiyeh, the scarf that has become a symbol of the Palestinians’ war on Israel. Berlin authorities have banned its display in schools as a symbol of jihad.
A representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization was on hand to express “deep gratitude for the pope’s unwavering support for the Palestinian cause” – which is the annihilation of Israel.
On Dec. 12, the pope met with Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority. On an earlier visit to the Vatican, the pontiff called Mr. Abbas – a Holocaust denier whose group subsidizes the killing of Jews – “an angel of peace.”
In his book “Hope Never Disappoints,” Pope Francis said Israel’s conduct in the Gaza Strip “should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits the technical definition of genocide.” The pope has never called for an investigation of Hamas and Hezbollah for the thousands of rockets they’ve rained down on Israel’s civilian population.
Israel goes to great lengths to avoid inflicting civilian casualties, while Hamas tries to maximize them by putting its fighters in schools and hospitals.
Hamas is fighting a war of annihilation against the Jewish people. Israel is the home of 46% of the world’s Jews. If it loses the war in Gaza, we’ll be well on our way to a second Holocaust.
But why should Pope Francis care about the fate of Jews in Israel when he doesn’t seem to care about persecuted Christians in Africa or China?
In Africa, Muslims are waging war on the continent’s Christian population. It’s estimated that in Nigeria, jihadis kill a Christian every two hours. Muslim militants are systematically torturing, raping and killing Christians.
The pope is also silent on the persecution of Christians, Buddhists and Muslim Uyghurs in China and Tibet.
The Vatican signed an accord with China that requires the pope to appoint bishops only from a list approved by the regime. Retired Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong accuses the Vatican of “selling out” the Catholic Church in China.
I don’t think Pope Francis is an anti-Semite in the classic sense. He is anti-Western and views Israel as an extension of European colonialism. The pope invariably sides with people in developing countries, regardless of whether their cause is just.
Standing near the U.S.-Mexican border in 2016, Pope Francis said that a person who builds walls instead of bridges is “not Christian.” That would make the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and the Mexican drug cartels – which want to maximize the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States – bastions of Christianity.
The pope, who grew up in Peronist Argentina, is unwavering in his opposition to capitalism. He has attacked the global economic system as based on “a god of money” and has called for the “radical rejection” of market economies.
Winston Churchill once remarked: “The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.”
Poverty and injustice are always greatest in nations that have followed the pope’s advice and repudiated the market economy. After six decades of communism, Cuba is importing sugar, which is like Wisconsin importing cheese.
After years of hyperinflation, corruption and misery, the pope’s native Argentina has embraced the free market through its new president, Javier Milei.
Pope Francis has said that while “Marxist ideology is wrong … I have met many Marxists in my life who are good people.”
In Soviet Russia, these good people engineered the famines that killed millions. In China, the Great Leap Forward killed tens of millions, and in Cambodia, 3.3 million died in the killing fields. All are a testament to Marxist benevolence.
The pope’s condemnation of Israel is a natural extension of his anti-Western mindset. The fact that Jews have traditionally been associated with market economies might also color his thinking.
It’s said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The construction crew includes good Marxists and terrorists wronged by Israel.
This column was first published at the Washington Times.
