To see this video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DhHky-V23U
Pope Francis was asked about Donald Trump, and
the famously compassionate religious leader could only barely hold back his
disgust.
Currently, Francis is finishing up an historic visit to Mexico.
Needless to say, the issue of Donald Trump inevitably came up. When a reporter
asked the pope to weigh in on Trump’s potential candidacy, he unloaded on the Republican front-runner.
“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not in the gospel. As far as what you said about whether I would advise to vote or not to vote, I am not going to get involved in that. I say only that this man is not Christian if he said things like that. We must see if he said things in that way and in this I give the benefit of the doubt.”
Consider the benefit of the doubt put to rest. Trump has spent
the last seven months campaigning heavily on the idea that he can block both
Hispanics and Muslims from ever coming to the United States.
His policies, such
that they are, have been organized around attacking minority groups and
advocating for the return of torture. At his essence, Trump’s campaign is the
exact opposite of Pope Francis’ message of tolerance and compassion.
Trump holds the distinction of having both pissed off the pope and also the entire country of Mexico.
He infamously criticized the Catholic leader by dismissing him as just “a politician.” Francis didn’t seem to mind, and in fact turned the tables on the attempted dig.
He infamously criticized the Catholic leader by dismissing him as just “a politician.” Francis didn’t seem to mind, and in fact turned the tables on the attempted dig.
“Thank God he said I was a politician, because Aristotle defined the human person as ‘animal politicus.’ So at least I am a human person. As to whether I am a pawn — well, maybe, I don’t know. I’ll leave that up to your judgment and that of the people.”
Trump is also deeply unpopular in Mexico following his repeated
attacks against the Mexican people. He kicked off his presidential campaign by
claiming the Mexican government was sending rapists across the border to sell
drugs and attack American women.
He’s never walked back those ideas. He also
claimed he would build a massive concrete wall across the entire southern
border – at a cost estimated to be in the billions – and get Mexico to pay for
it.
The pope’s criticisms of Trump come at a time when the candidate
is desperately trying to prove that he is a very good Christian – with
humiliating results.
Trump, who once told shock jock Howard Stern that having
unprotected sex with as many women as he had was his personal “Vietnam,” hasn’t
fooled very many people with this false change of heart.
It takes a whole lot to get the pope to spend time taking you
down a peg. Trump, for all of his hate speech and vile ideas, falls into that
rare category of absolutely deserving it.
Author Jameson
Parker covers US politics, social justice issues, and other current
events which aren't getting the attention they deserve. Feel free to follow or
drop me a line on twitter.
