The new Pope, Francis, may shape up to be a Neocon nightmare.
First, of all, those lousy Cardinals didn’t elect an American, so they obviously don’t know what’s good for them. Secondly, they elected someone from Latin America (Argentina) of all places.
Latin America, it seems, is the one region of the world where the CIA has not been allowed to operate secret Torture Fortresses. South America should be punished for that. But those clerics didn’t cooperate.
So, the new pope is from the wrong country and the wrong continent. Also, his chosen regnal name, Francis, is horrible. The name a Pope chooses is very important and communicates much about his style and emphasis as pope. Pope Francis likely chose the name as an homage to Saint Francis Xavier, the missionary extraordinaire who spread the faith to India, Japan and Borneo. Saint Francis apparently viewed non-Europeans as human beings. The War Party can’t much care for that. Even worse, Pope Francis was sure to know that the name Francis will remind people of the most famous Francis. The one from Assisi. That guy was notable for not being a big fan of war. Indeed, Saint Francis of Assisi went to Muslim lands unarmed in an attempt to convert them. He didn’t take a single drone with him, being hopelessly naive, as he was, and not appreciating the holiness of a good carpet bombing.
The War Party of course was probably hoping for the equivalent of an Innocent IV, who might carry on the tradition of Innocent III, the pope of the Albigensian Crusade and other militarist horrors. No such luck, it seems.
Given Pope Francis’ overall background, it’s extremely likely that he’ll continue the antiwar policies of John Paul II (whom Raimondo called the Gandalf of the Peace Party) and Benedict XVI. Justin Raimondo covers this more here and here.
The next time the US begins a major invasion and bombing campaign, I expect the War Mission of George Weigel, Michael Novak, et al may again travel to the Vatican to shill for more war, but they will be probably meet the same chilly reception they met with J.P. II in 2003.
Only time will tell of course, but the War Party, I’m sure, will simply sneer and comfort themselves by asking, “How many drones does the Pope have?”
3:41 pm on March 13, 2013
