The Pope Schools Donald Trump on Christian Values.

Donald Trump’s true character has been on full display since retaking the White House last year.  But in recent weeks Trump’s narcissism, amorality and indifference to the suffering of others have caused even his most ardent supporters to question his competence and mental fitness.

Trump’s unsanctioned and unnecessary war in Iran hasn’t gone as planned. As the war drags into its seventh week, Iranian resistance has stymied any easy off ramp for Trump. The war has damaged economies across the globe, and the likelihood of the United States strongarming the Iranian regime into peaceful compliance is a pipe dream. This has left Trump embittered and increasingly unhinged. Trump has threatened to destroy Iran’s entire civilization, attacked world leaders, including the Pope, for criticizing him, and has taken to his social media platform to post crazy diatribes and offensive AI generated images.
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Trump provoked nearly universal condemnation with a profanity-laced post on Easter Sunday, the most sacred day on the Christian calendar. Trump threatened to destroy Iran’s civilian infrastructure and mocked Islam’s God. This was followed two days later with a post with the following warning to the Iranians, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”

What really caught my attention, and that of the billions of Christians around the world, were his mind-numbingly stupid posts on Orthodox Easter Sunday. In one post Trump attacked Pope Leo, calling him weak on crime and terrible on foreign policy. Trump posted that he didn’t “want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do”.
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Soon after posting his criticism of the Pope, Trump posted the infamous AI generated image depicting himself as Jesus Christ. This was quickly condemned by many of his Christian supporters who viewed the image as blasphemous, offensive and an affront to Christianity. Trump claims to have thought that the image depicted him as a doctor, but no one was buying it and the image was taken down. 

                          I Don't Think So!

Trump vs the Pope: In matters of Christian theology and morality, I will take the side of the Pope Leo XIV over Trump any day. Trump and his defense secretary have portrayed the Iran War as a moral crusade, a “holy war”. During a worship service at the Pentagon, Secretary Hegseth asked God to pour “overwhelming violence” on Iran. Hegseth went further by praying that American bullets be guided straight into the bodies of their targets, to “break the teeth of the ungodly” and “rain violence and death on the enemy.” The prayer concluded with “in bold confidence in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus Christ”. Invoking the name of Jesus Christ to justify war and the killing of innocents crossed a red line for the Pope. As the spiritual leader of approximately 1.4 billion Catholics around the world, the Pope was compelled to speak out against the increasingly violent rhetoric and warmongering coming from the White House.

In his Palm Sunday sermon the Pope proclaimed, “Brothers and sisters, this our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood”. This sermon rankled Trump who doesn’t take kindly to criticism, particularly from other world leaders.

When asked by reporters how he felt about comments directed at him by Trump, the Pope responded, “Too many people are suffering in the world today. Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say there’s a better way.” Amen to that!

​To counter the Pope’s narrative and reassure his Christian supporters, Trump responded in his typical juvenile manner, by posting an image of himself being embraced by Jesus. In recent days Trump and Vice President JD Vance have taken to the airways and social media to tell the Pope to essentially stick to his knitting and stay out of the affairs of the United States.

During his travels in Africa this week, the Pope took the opportunity to continue spreading the word of peace and condemning the suffering and devastation caused by wars. The Pope’s words were directed to African leaders fueling many of the violent conflicts on the continent as well as leaders around the world, (yes, you Donald Trump), who view war as necessary and justified by some moral imperative.
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“Jesus told us, blessed are the peacemakers”, preached the Pope. “But woe to those who manipulate religion in the very name of God for their own military, economic or political gain. Dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth.” Masters of war “turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found.” “The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants, yet it is held together by a multitude of supportive brothers and sisters.” Unfortunately, one of those tyrants is home grown and leading us down a path few Americans embrace.

It is time for Christians of all stripes, as well as for all decent people, to embrace the words of the Pope and distant themselves from the destructive and anti-Christian policies and actions of the Trump Administration.  

If Trump’s war in Iran has accomplished anything it is the shredding of any remnants of the United States’ moral authority in the world. In Ronald Reagan’s farewell address to the nation, he portrayed America as a “shining city on a hill”, “a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.”
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Today America is at an inflection point created by immoral, corrupt and incompetent leaders. The war in Iran has divided the American people even further, eroded our standing in the world, and created increased tensions with our strategic and military allies. The city walls of that shining city on the hill that Reagan once visualized are today much higher, its doors are closed to all but a few, and the light has dimmed almost to darkness. Let’s hope and pray that the enduring spirit of the American people will be the spark that rekindles the light, and that illusive shining city on the hill will once again be within our reach. 

For those who would like to read more about my views on Christianity and how they are incompatible with Trump and Trumpism, I refer you to my October 18, 2024, blog , “Are Christian Values Compatible With Trumpism?”

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Thanks,
Armchair American