In fact, it's the same with liberalism saying freedom (the reduction of that which undermines human dignity) is a necessary component of achieving the good.

And just to clarify for the pedants: the minimization of harm is a *necessary* component of achieving the good. That is why justice and mercy are emphasized extremely heavily in the scriptures, and are presented as a *requirement* of faith. The Christian Good includes justice and mercy.

And just in case you want to try to "Isaiah is talking about the rituals of Mosaic Law" shit... maybe try reading better:
"When you stretch out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood."

2 Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law. 4 You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working[k] through love. 7 You were running well; who prevented you from obeying the truth? 8 Such persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough. 10 I am confident about you in the Lord that you will not think otherwise. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty. 11 But my friends,[l] why am I still being persecuted if I am still preaching circumcision? In that case the offence of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves! 13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters;[m] only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence,[n] but through love become slaves to one another. 14 For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ 15 If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

16 Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. 17 These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

23 ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practised without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!

Legalism is explicitly denounced in the Bible and Christianity in general. You don't get to just pass off legalism as God's Way without some pushback.

Religious freedom, in turn, which men demand as necessary to fulfill their duty to worship God, has to do with immunity from coercion in civil society. Therefore it leaves untouched traditional Catholic doctrine on the moral duty of men and societies toward the true religion and toward the one Church of Christ. Over and above all this, the council intends to develop the doctrine of recent popes on the inviolable rights of the human person and the constitutional order of society. 2. This Vatican Council declares that the human person has a right to religious freedom. This freedom means that all men are to be immune from coercion on the part of individuals or of social groups and of any human power, in such wise that no one is to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his own beliefs, whether privately or publicly, whether alone or in association with others, within due limits.

10 So Samuel reported all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, ‘These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; 12 and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plough his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. 15 He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. 16 He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle[b] and donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the Lord will not answer you in that day.’ Israel’s Request for a King Granted 19 But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, ‘No! but we are determined to have a king over us, 20 so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.’ 21 When Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. 22 The Lord said to Samuel, ‘Listen to their voice and set a king over them.’ Samuel then said to the people of Israel, ‘Each of you return home.’

Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! 11 What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt-offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. 12 When you come to appear before me,[a] who asked this from your hand? Trample my courts no more; 13 bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation— I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. 14 Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. 16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, 17 learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.

But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

So, yet again, you people clearly don't care about your own faith. Freedom and rights are an integral part of the Catholic faith and have literally always been, just expressed in different ways throughout time:

@vfddp7799.bsky.social www.vatican.va/archive/hist...

As for minimizing harm, that literally IS the point of Catholicism, and if you don't like it, take it up with the Gospel and all the Popes that agree with me.
And the "universal destination of goods" actually means the earth's goods are to benefit all humans. That's what it means!

And lastly, "letting everyone do whatever they want" is literally completely against the entire idea of liberalism. No liberal has ever said such a thing, not in the past, not in the present. It's a straw man, point blank.

Theologically, freedom also happens to be necessary for salvation. In fact, it is wild seeing conservative Catholics claim that freedom goes against Theology and "virtue" when imposing a good at gunpoint isn't a virtue. The whole point is that you voluntarily pursue the common good.

The whole point is that people needed to be protected from our political systems, because political systems are prone to abuse the people, reduce the dignity of God's people, and introduce unjust inequalities that go directly against the very idea that all humans are equally made in the image of God

It doesn't do away with social duties nor virtue, in fact it does the exact opposite by placing duties, virtue, and strictures on politics and politicians. Liberals like John Locke used natural law and moral duties to define liberalism, for gosh sakes.

Freedom is NOT an end in liberalism, it's a necessary condition for the common good, and it is partly achieved through a particular political organization that is meant to protect the dignity of each individual in a society and their ability to pursue virtue.

The error of liberalism is placing the final end of humanity in the freedom of the individual and the expense of the common good / virtues, & social duties due to each other, founded in the universal destination of goods, which means they are created by, sustained by, and destined for God.

So good job, you've demonstrated you don't know what you're talking about. Now let me tell you what you got wrong:

You know... it gets tiring seeing conservatives and centrists/traditionalists repeating the same incorrect shit over and over again about what liberalism is. This person is just another in a long list that's conflating libertarianism, libertinism, liberalism, and utilitarianism.

9. The condition of the poor is a cry that, throughout human history, constantly challenges our lives, societies, political and economic systems, and, not least, the Church. On the wounded faces of the poor, we see the suffering of the innocent and, therefore, the suffering of Christ himself. At the same time, we should perhaps speak more correctly of the many faces of the poor and of poverty, since it is a multifaceted phenomenon. In fact, there are many forms of poverty: the poverty of those who lack material means of subsistence, the poverty of those who are socially marginalized and lack the means to give voice to their dignity and abilities, moral and spiritual poverty, cultural poverty, the poverty of those who find themselves in a condition of personal or social weakness or fragility, the poverty of those who have no rights, no space, no freedom.

And in case you want to claim Catholicism doesn't care about freedom, which is something you've already tried to claim elsewhere on Bsky because you're an idiot that cannot understand the Church's nuance re: rights vs. imperatives, the latter of which was never meant to rid our rights nor dignity:

And just for good measure, the Pope uses "liberation" 10 whole times in Dilexi Te.

So, tl;dr, your false distinction between the "universal distribution of [earthly] goods" and "improving people's material circumstances" is nonsensical. One leads to the other, and BOTH are goals of the Church.

The most common form of Liberation Theology is *very* in-line with Catholic Social Teaching, to the point that some liberation theologists literally use Catholic Social Teaching in their works.
So stop talking out of your ass. You clearly do not know what you are talking about.

As can be seen by the exhortation, politics does in fact matter, but it is not the only thing that matters. Turning the Pope's words into "politics doesn't matter" is bearing false witness to his words. It is wrong, it is inconsistent with Scripture, and it is inconsistent with Catholic Theology.

The Pope is extremely close in Theology to someone like Gustavo Gutiérrez. The Catholic Church has never condemned all of Liberation Theology. It has condemned Marxist Theology/Philosophy, justifying violence, and reducing salvation to politics *ONLY*.

So... if you're about to reply to me saying the Catholic Church doesn't support socialism, you can stop right there, because guess what? Not all Liberation Theologians support socialism or want to abolish private property, so your entire point is moot.

86. The Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, building on the teachings of the Church Fathers, forcefully reaffirms the universal destination of earthly goods and the social function of property that derives from it. The Constitution states that “God destined the earth and all it contains for all people and nations so that all created things would be shared fairly by all humankind under the guidance of justice tempered by charity… In their use of things people should regard the external goods they lawfully possess as not just their own but common to others as well, in the sense that they can benefit others as well as themselves. Therefore, everyone has the right to possess a sufficient amount of the earth’s goods for themselves and their family… Persons in extreme necessity are entitled to take what they need from the riches of others… By its nature, private property has a social dimension that is based on the law of the common destination of earthly goods. Whenever the social aspect is forgotten, ownership can often become the object of greed and a source of serious disorder.” [82] This conviction was reiterated by Saint Paul VI in his Encyclical Populorum Progressio. There we read that no one can feel authorized to “appropriate surplus goods solely for his [or her] own private use when others lack the bare necessities of life.” [83] In his address to the United Nations, Pope Paul VI spoke as the advocate of poor peoples [84] and urged the international community to build a world of solidarity.

The "universal destination of EARTHLY goods" means that the earth's goods are intended to benefit all people, which again, is wholly consistent with Liberation Theology. Your distinction that this is not about "material goods" is contradicted by the very paragraph in the Exhortation:

So, let's circle back: improving people's real-world circumstances absolutely IS a goal because we should aspire to become like Christ, we should do works to help the poor, these works become a sign of our faith, AND they are sacramental, transforming us by the grace of God.

* Apostolic Exhortation

Nowhere does he explicitly call out Liberation Theology, or even disagree with it. Freeing prisoners, helping the poor, spreading equality, opposing injustice and overturning unjust structures - these are all consistent with Liberation Theology, the Catholic Church, and Scripture.

119. Our love and our deepest convictions need to be continually cultivated, and we do so through our concrete actions. Remaining in the realm of ideas and theories, while failing to give them expression through frequent and practical acts of charity, will eventually cause even our most cherished hopes and aspirations to weaken and fade away. For this very reason, we Christians must not abandon almsgiving. It can be done in different ways, and surely more effectively, but it must continue to be done. It is always better at least to do something rather than nothing. Whatever form it may take, almsgiving will touch and soften our hardened hearts. It will not solve the problem of world poverty, yet it must still be carried out, with intelligence, diligence and social responsibility. For our part, we need to give alms as a way of reaching out and touching the suffering flesh of the poor. 120. Christian love breaks down every barrier, brings close those who were distant, unites strangers, and reconciles enemies. It spans chasms that are humanly impossible to bridge, and it penetrates to the most hidden crevices of society. By its very nature, Christian love is prophetic: it works miracles and knows no limits. It makes what was apparently impossible happen. Love is above all a way of looking at life and a way of living it. A Church that sets no limits to love, that knows no enemies to fight but only men and women to love, is the Church that the world needs today. 121. Through your work, your efforts to change unjust social structures or your simple, heartfelt gesture of closeness and support, the poor will come to realize that Jesus’ words are addressed personally to each of them: “I have loved you” (Rev 3:9).

And then he ends on the aspiration to change *social structures* for the better, which is yet another position wholly consistent with Liberation Theology:

We must also recognize that, throughout centuries of Christian history, helping the poor and advocating for their rights has not only involved individuals, families, institutions, or religious communities. There have been, and still are, various popular movements made up of lay people and led by popular leaders, who have often been viewed with suspicion and even persecuted. I am referring to “all those persons who journey, not as individuals, but as a closely-bound community of all and for all, one that refuses to leave the poor and vulnerable behind... ‘Popular’ leaders, then, are those able to involve everyone... They do not shun or fear those young people who have experienced hurt or borne the weight of the cross.” [71] These popular leaders know that solidarity “also means fighting against the structural causes of poverty and inequality; of the lack of work, land and housing; and of the denial of social and labor rights. It means confronting the destructive effects of the empire of money… Solidarity, understood in its deepest sense, is a way of making history, and this is what the popular movements are doing.” [72] For this reason, when different institutions think about the needs of the poor, it is necessary to “include popular movements and invigorate local, national and international governing structures with that torrent of moral energy that springs from including the excluded in the building of a common destiny.” [73] Popular movements, in fact, invite us to overcome “the idea of social policies being a policy for the poor, but never with the poor and never of the poor, much less part of a project which can bring people back together.” [74] If politicians and professionals do not listen to them, “democracy atrophies, turns into a slogan, a formality; it loses its representative character and becomes disembodied, ...” [75] The same must be said of the institutions of the Church.

He then literally approves of popular (secular) movements that stand in solidarity with the poor and fight against injustice and for the equality of all human beings, which IS a Catholic Theology, and says the Church must listen to these movements too.

59. Since apostolic times, the Church has seen the liberation of the oppressed as a sign of the Kingdom of God. Jesus himself proclaimed: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives” (Lk 4:18). The early Christians, even in precarious conditions, prayed for and assisted their brothers and sisters who were prisoners, as the Acts of the Apostles (cf. 12:5; 24:23) and various writings of the Fathers attest. This mission of liberation has continued throughout the centuries through concrete actions, especially when the tragedy of slavery and imprisonment has marked entire societies. 60. Between the late twelfth and the early thirteenth centuries, when many Christians were captured in the Mediterranean or enslaved in wars, two religious orders arose: the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives (Trinitarians), founded by Saint John of Matha and Saint Felix of Valois, and the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy (Mercedarians), founded by Saint Peter Nolasco with the support of the Dominican Saint Raymond of Peñafort. These communities of consecrated persons were born with the specific charism of freeing Christians who had been enslaved, placing their own possessions at the disposal of the enslaved [46] and many times offering their own lives in exchange. The Trinitarians, with their motto Gloria tibi Trinitas et captivis libertas (Glory to you, O Trinity, and liberty to the captives), and the Mercedarians, who added a fourth vow [47] to the religious vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, testified that charity can be heroic. The liberation of prisoners is an expression of Trinitarian love: a God who frees not only from spiritual slavery but also from concrete oppression. The act of rescuing someone from slavery and captivity is seen as an extension of Christ’s redemptive sacrifice, whose blood is the price of our redemption (cf. 1 Cor 6:20).

And about freeing prisoners and those under all forms of slavery - yet again wholly consistent with the very literal goal of Liberation Theology:

He expresses approval of education, mendicant orders, especially St. Francis', accompanying migrants, who are socially poor and strangers (again, fighting against Trumpism), caring for the sick, and looking at the poor not merely as a "societal problem" that we must "deal with", but as real people.

Which is obvious given the context of the Letter of James, a book the Catholic Church has often emphasized much more than Protestantism has.