Lighten up, Francis

The new Pope is apparently no great believer in the gospel of works. Sure, charity is nice, but as Rev. Bergoglio said today, "We can walk all we want, we can build many things, but if we don't proclaim Jesus Christ, something is wrong. We would become a compassionate NGO and not a Church which is the bride of Christ....When we walk without the cross, when we build without the cross and when we proclaim Christ without the cross, we are not disciples of the Lord. We are worldly." 

My understanding is that Bergoglio has to some extent lived up to the personal austerity of the saint whose name he has taken, and has been a champion of the poor in Argentina by his own lights. But given the package that comes with proclaiming Jesus Christ, at least as far as Bergoglio is concerned -- rejection of abortion, homosexuality, "liberation theology," etc. -- I imagine that many of the poor would take the "worldly" NGO, all else being equal. 

By the way, expect to see that headline more often from American bloggers, especially when Francis gets around to criticizing American foreign and economic policy in the manner of his two predecessors. He's not the same sort of "conservative" you usually see here, and he'll be resented for that sometimes.