Pope criticizes "savage capitalism" in visit to food kitchen

[The Magistrate]

41. Exactly, Ma'am, And That Is The Measure Of Concern

The barring from sacraments is not a political question, not determined by a political view, but by a moral measure, by a claim that a person is doing something in violation of doctrine, committing an egregious sin, which renders him or her unfit for receiving a sacrament. Catholic clergy in authority take the matters of abortion and homosexuals' rights seriously enough to regard disagreement with them as sin; until disagreement with them on questions of exploiting workers and the poor is treated with similar seriousness, treated as sin, then it is clear that they take sexual matters far more seriously than they take actual injury to poor and working people. No matter how much talk about 'social justice' or 'concern for the poor' they may mouth, this will remain the case, until Catholic business owners are threatened with denial of sacraments or excommunication for paying starvation wages and maintaining dangerous workplaces and the like. Unless backed by action, talk is worthless.