Environmentalist/Socialist Archbishop says growth of “tent cities” in Los Angeles caused by rising inequality
The Conciliar Church is not interested in conversions to the Faith but it is interested in promoting socialism and saving the planet
Los Angeles might be one of the wealthiest places on earth, but its archbishop says a growing gap between rich and poor has left thousands living in “tent cities” surrounded by the contents of their former homes.
Archbishop José Gómez has spoken out against the lack of affordable housing putting it on a par with climate change and linking it to Pope Francis’ call for the environment to be a “common home” for everyone.
“I am worried about the quality of life here in Los Angeles,” the 65-year-old Mexican-born prelate writes. “Every day it seems the distance grows wider between those who have what they need for a dignified life and those who do not. In many of our neighbourhoods we now see makeshift ‘tent cities’ being established on sidewalks and boulevards and other public spaces.”
He cites a recent report which revealed a rise in homelessness across the country with 58,000 each night left without a roof over their head. Archbishop Gómez says he’s worried by the sight of people living with “clothing, furniture, bikes and toys” around them as it shows they once had a home.
The archbishop, who is a member of Opus Dei, leads a sprawling diocese of five million Catholics, making it the largest numerically in the United States and therefore giving his voice weight. Writing in the archdiocese’ website Angelus News, the Los Angeles church leader argues that lack of housing shows that the “good things of creation” need to be shared and he develops the Pope’s notion of a “human ecology” that needs to be protected.
“For me, the housing crisis is a reminder that in God’s creation, there is an ecology of the human person and an ecology of the natural environment,” he writes.
“God made this earth, not for its own sake, but to be a home for the human family. The good things of creation are meant to be shared, developed and used for the good of all of his children.
The archbishop is, however, less outspoken about global warming and climate a change saying only that the “concern” about it is real. While he says that the decision by President Donald Trump to pull out of the Paris agreement has “provoked deep concern” there still remain “sharp debates - scientific, technological, economic and political — about how severe the crisis is and how best to address the challenges created by carbon dioxide emissions.”
His remarks a more cautious than with Cardinal Blase Cupich, the Archbishop of Chicago who reacted in much stronger terms to President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris deal on reducing carbon emissions.
“Failing to protect the earth is not just a failure of leadership,” he tweeted. “It is a moral failure.”
Appointed by Benedict XVI in 2010 as Archbishop of Los Angeles in recent years the numbers of Catholics have been bolstered by immigration with hispanic origins now comprising more than two thirds of the Catholic population.
Given its size, Los Angeles is normally led by a cardinal but in recent consistories to mane new cardinals Archbishop Gómez has not been selected to be given a red hat.
