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FreddieUK Those are relevant questions.
Those are vital questions for one who is not a dunderhead living in a rudderless world.
As I think you have suggested, terms like 'prophet' and 'dissident' depend on where you stand.
To avoid digressing, let's focus on Vance's admonition of the Pope.
Everyone has a personal political agenda. Politics is simply about the way economic and societal structures are organised and faith will inform our judgements on whether some structures are more or less moral.
So, is Pope Leo guided by a personal political agenda that runs counter to that of the US Vice President?? Is the Pontiff poking his nose in US foreign policy on the side of Tucker Carlson and Marjorie Taylor Greene?
I am not a Roman Catholic so only observe the Pope from afar, but since the RCs became embroiled in the politics of statehood centuries ago it's no wonder the role is not clear.
The Pope is not a Roman Catholic. He is the vicar of Christ in the true sense of that role. Is that so? Or is he no different from a goddam priest or pastor mouthing off on the Iran war?
My reading of the Gospel message is that it is not party political in itself (how can it be, since it was first proclaimed in an absolute dictatorship?), but followers of Christ, like yeast or salt, are to enhance societies by their words and deeds and while also pointing to things beyond the material.
I see.
What do you mean by "absolute dictatorship" through which the Gospel message was proclaimed?
