Pope Francis' admonitions that those who are able should do more to help the poor does not mean he's a communist, Catholic priest Monsignor Jim Lisante tells
Newsmax TV.
"It's the job of every Holy Father to tweak the conscience of those who have and get them to give more of what they have to those who have less, so he's doing exactly what a pope should do," Lisante, pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Massapequa, New York, told Ed Berliner on "MidPoint" Tuesday.
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Some conservatives such as
conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh have charged the pope with touting Marxism because of statements he's made, but the New York priest says that it couldn't be further from the truth.
"In fact, his history in South America is always to oppose Marxism and so-called liberation theology, and to say, 'No, we can work with both the communists and the capitalists to serve the needs of the poor,'" he explained.
"All he cares about is doing for those who are most in need," he said.
At most, Lisante says that Pope Francis may have some socialistic tendencies.
"But there's a big difference between socialism and communism," he contends.
"Communism has a rich record of simply taking from you what you have, whether you like it or not," he explained.
"Socialism does allow personal possession, capitalism and the Holy Father would probably say, 'I'm not uncomfortable being a socialist if it means that those who have share with those who have less,'" he said.
"But communism is too much tied to totalitarianism, dictatorship, taking away human rights," he added.
"He's not a communist," Lisante said.
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