Will be perceived as another shot at current Trump policies lol
76
NegotiationTall430023 hr ago
+26
Elon Musk about to Fume
26
TheDuckFarm15 hr ago
+4
You’re right, he’s criticizing China, but Trump will take the hit. Heck Trump will probably make it about himself before anyone else does.
4
sofixa1122 hr ago
+27
Extremely weird of the pope to visit Equatorial Guinea of all places. Perfect democracies are rare, especially on the African continent, but Equitorial Guinea is one of the most repressive regimes out there. Kind of hereditary dictatorship with an absurd wealth inequality - it has lots of oil, but only the ruling class that live on an island profit off it; the rest on the mainland live in abject poverty. It's also a weird place for this kind of message, since it didn't have much in the way of mineral/natural resources until decades after independence, and the majority of its natural riches (oil) is exploited by a state owned company.
27
S0LO_Bot21 hr ago
+27
His expanded statement calls out the economy of the country as purposeful inequality, and he also criticized the greed of leaders. He notably did not give any names or point any fingers when denouncing said greed, but hopefully people can pick up on the implications.
I do find the colonization part of his message weird. I’m not sure if he said it referring to his larger African tour or if there was another reason. If not that, then the pope was either confused or was perhaps making a statement on resources exiting the country without wealth going to the common people? I have no idea.
27
mapped_apples17 hr ago
+13
He was not confused. These statements are 100% proposed, reviewed, and probably looked over by 10 different sets of eyes by people with years of education.
13
imgonnajumpofabridge21 hr ago
+11
Not the fault of the people there
11
Salmundo21 hr ago
+7
Maybe go where the message needs to be heard?
7
icantbelieveit163720 hr ago
+5
Where’d you get the SOE data from. My own research says most of the oil extraction is done by American companies almost exclusively and that the government only gets less than 10% of the proceeds from oil production.
5
sofixa1120 hr ago
+4
Oil is managed by the national oil company GEPetrol, gas by EG LNG. They were created after American companies withdrew from Equitorial Guinea.
>only gets less than 10% of the proceeds from oil production.
That wouldn't be too shocking if a foreign oil company came in and did everything (extraction, refining, export). We're talking about a capital intensive work with lots of very specialised skills and equipment. Sometimes extraction can be highly complex too (e.g. offshore).
Here's a comparison between the rates in different countries, and 10% would be pretty middle of the park: https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Work-of-the-Assembly/Tabled-Papers/docs/5619t1028/5619t1028.pdf
4
icantbelieveit163719 hr ago
+1
>Oil is managed by the national oil company GEPetrol, gas by EG LNG. They were created after American companies withdrew from Equitorial Guinea
See I’m looking up GEPetrol and it seems that while they are a stakeholder in oil production American companies are the bulk producers.
Excerpt from U.S energy information administration “U.S. companies are the dominant producers of Equatorial Guinea’s crude oil, although European and Chinese companies have started to play a role in the sector. GEPetrol, the national oil company, owns small shares in key fields and manages the state’s participation as a shareholder in production-sharing agreements”
https://www.eia.gov/international/analysis/country/GNQ
1
icantbelieveit163719 hr ago
+1
EG LNG is also interesting because the American Marathon company (ConocoPhillips Subsidiary btw) owns majority stakes in both the natural gas fields as well as the LNG plant itself. I think you are mistaking EG LNG as the SOE when Sociedad Nacional de Gas de Guinea Equatorial (SONOGAS) took EGpetrols stake nearly 20 years ago.
https://eglng.com/en/about/history
1
StBlandine716 hr ago
+2
I guess the citizens there don't deserve to hear the Gospel direct from the Pope
2
Ready-Pressure993416 hr ago
+1
let’s not overlook that this includes Carbon, and all the bullshit voluntary offset market corporate greenwashing in US and EU
1
breadandbunny14 hr ago
+2
Literally all we've done is invade places for resources and lie that the motivations were things like democracy, which is actively being destroyed at home. I like this Pope.
2
PigFarmer121 hr ago
+1
Another King Donnie hissy-fit is coming...
1
pfeifits1 day ago
-16
I wonder if the Pope understands how much of his church's wealth comes from colonialism. It is a lot.
-16
Kevin_Wolf1 day ago
+42
You should let him know. I bet he has no idea.
42
lostroadrunner2223 hr ago
+12
Probably should make a note and hammer it to his door
12
Traherne23 hr ago
Attaboy, Luther!
0
Realsorceror23 hr ago
+14
Maybe that’s why he’s saying this? Gotta start somewhere if you want to try and make things right.
14
Random_Words_182723 hr ago
Maybe release all files of pedophilic catholic priests. That would be a good start.
0
Realsorceror23 hr ago
+13
Agreed, sure. But I don’t see what he can’t tackle an issue specific to Africa when visiting there.
13
Random_Words_182723 hr ago
-8
Yeah, but when? Catholic priests have been raping children for decades upon decades and the Catholic Church has been covering it up for just as long.
You and I both know he's never going to do anything to make up for the Catholic Church covering up thousands upon thousands of children getting raped.
Maybe while in Africa he can apologize for all the indoctrination missions.
-8
COMM_NTARIAT20 hr ago
+1
They're still settling North America for God's sake.
1
ahazred8vt15 hr ago
+1
Italy seized the Vatican's assets during the revolution in the 1800s, and finally paid back $92M USD in 1929.
1
Alarming_Comedian84623 hr ago
-4
If you were completely incapable of taking any responsibility, it *would* seem foreign to you.
-4
No-Celebration30971 day ago
-3
More than a lot
-3
NW-McWisconsin21 hr ago
-1
Manifest Destiny should just die off. Go away. Never rise again. The 1800 and 1900's were NOT the golden years. 😡
-1
RealityCheck83122 hr ago
-5
Yet the subjugation and conversion to Christianity was A-OK? LMAO.
-5
RagsZa14 hr ago
+1
Does he include religious and cultural colonialism and speaking out against missionary work too? Or is economics the only thing that makes us human brings.
1
A_Nonny_Muse1 day ago
-33
IIRC, the RCC benefitted greatly from a lot of resources plundered all around the world. I just wish the RCC would repent of their own sins before they condemn others for doing the same. In my opinion, accepting goods you know were stolen is just as bad as stealing them yourself.
-33
DuskOfANewAge1 day ago
+26
Are people not allowed to learn from their mistakes and tell others not to follow their previous bad examples? What is the point of maturing and becoming a better person if you can't warn others not to make the same mistakes you did? I don't get the logic of, well you must be punished first before you're even allowed to speak about morality.
26
A_Nonny_Muse15 hr ago
Except they have not matured, nor tried to make any of it right. Pure lip service without action. They tell others to do penitence when they refuse to do any themselves.
Hypocrites... the third group of people Jesus spoke harshly about.
0
trollsong23 hr ago
-6
I mean yes they are, but, i think the problem people are having is that he's calling out other people's problems while ignoring his own.
If only there was a Bible verse about that.
-6
Yogiwas19 hr ago
-5
Why doesn’t he do the Vatican’s part to support decolonization and return all the profits made by the church from colonization?
-5
petit_cochon17 hr ago
+4
He doesn't actually own everything in the church, for one thing.
4
AlwaysUpvotesScience22 hr ago
-8
"Colonialization" is the word they were looking for...
38 Comments