Misreadings from the Left and the Right.

In spite of the fact that Pope Francis continues to "disappoint" Left leaning Catholics with his statements on women's ordination, abortion and artificial birth control, as well as his recent endorsement of a Slovak referendum to ban marriage and adoption by same-sex couples, progressive writers, such as Sarah Posner, press on with their attempt to drive a wedge between conservative Catholics and the Catholic Church by asserting that Pope Francis is really one of them (Progressives) and not at all like his predecessors.

In her opinion piece on Pope Francis' upcoming joint session of the United States' Congress, for Aljazeera, Posner predicts that the pontiff will not be speaking on those issues where he disagrees with the Left, but will use his congressional speech as a forum for discussing the current global economic order, the role of government in alleviating inequality, and the issues of immigration and climate change.

People on both ends of the political spectrum - the Right and the Left - need to wake up to the fact that the teachings of the Catholic Church do not fit into traditional American political categories where religion can be used as a sjambok to beat down your political opponents.

Pope Francis was right, of course, in saying, "A good Catholic meddles in politics, offering the best of himself, so that those who govern can govern." But, when we meddle in politics, as Catholics, we should do so with an eye to following the Catechism of the Catholic Church and not bending the teachings of the Church to fit our own agendas.