Vatican City, Nov 22, 2017 / 11:22 am
On Tuesday, Pope Francis blasted what he has often referred to as "ideological colonization," which he said is a sin against God that leads to persecution.
This persecution can have both spiritual and cultural elements, and can have both religious and political motives, he said. Cultural persecution occurs when a new culture comes in and wants "to make everything new and to make a clean break with everything" that was there prior, wiping away "the cultures, the laws and the religions of a people."
In the past, Francis has often used the term "ideological colonization" in describing what he views as the oppression of developing nations by more powerful ones, particularly in the West, who seek to impose their values on poorer countries by making the adoption of these values a condition for humanitarian aid or development money.
Two examples of this "ideological colonization" Francis has spoken of frequently are the distribution of condoms in developing nations and the promotion of gender theory.