Pope Francis positioned himself at odds with the sort of capitalism that has ruled the day, especially in our Anglophone countries since way back in the days when Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher swung to the right.  In his first major writing, the Pope attacked capitalism as a form of tyranny.

“As long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world’s problems or, for that matter, to any problems,” wrote the former Jorge Mario Bergoglio. 

The economics favored by Hayek, Friedman, Reagan, and most modern conservatives took a direct hit:

“Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world,” Pope Francis wrote.  “This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system.”

“I beg the Lord to grant us more politicians who are genuinely disturbed by the state of society, the people, the lives of the poor!” Pope Francis wrote.  “It is vital that government leaders and financial leaders take heed and broaden their horizons, working to ensure that all citizens have dignified work, education and healthcare.”

The 224-page document will serve as his official platform.  It doesn’t change anything about the church in terms of the all-male priesthood or opposition to womens reproductive rights.  But in it, Pope Francis writes an amazing passage finally recognizing the conditions that might lead some women to choose abortion:

“..It is also true that we have done little to adequately accompany women in very difficult situations, where abortion appears as a quick solution to their profound anguish, especially when the life developing within them is the result of rape or a situation of extreme poverty.  Who can remain unmoved before such painful situations?” he asks.

And in the next paragraph Francis cites the death of a river in the Philippine capital city and advocates environmentalism.

“After a single night’s rain, look at the chocolate brown rivers in your locality and remember that they are carrying the life blood of the land into the sea…  How can fish swim in sewers like the Pasig and so many more rivers which we have polluted?  Who has turned the wonderworld of the seas into underwater cemeteries bereft of color and life?”