Pope Francis responded Sunday to critics like Rush Limbaugh who accused the pontiff of espousing Marxist views after he delivered an exhortation critical of capitalist economic policies.
“Marxist ideology is wrong,” the pope told Italian newspaper La Stampa, as quoted by NBC News. “But in my life I have known many Marxists who are good people, so I don’t feel offended.”
Limbaugh said on his talk radio program last month that the pontiff was clueless about the economy, calling the November document “pure Marxism coming out of the mouth of the Pope.”
The pontiff told the newspaper that he didn’t speak “as a technician but according to the social doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, and this does not mean being Marxist,” according to NBC News. He added that he merely intended to highlight a “snapshot of what is happening” in the world today.
