Pope Leo’s Political Commentary Strengthens The Left

We’ve seen this movie before. During the 1980s, Catholic bishops in the U.S. advocated a “freeze” on nuclear weapons. Of course, they put the primary responsibility for making this happen on America’s shoulders, particularly on then-President Ronald Reagan. I don’t remember much about the Catholic clergy scolding Soviet leaders to do the same, probably because that didn’t happen. In their wistful world of wishful thinking and kumbaya, if only we took the plunge first with the freeze, then the Soviets would surely follow. Reagan, being the adult in the room that he was, politely ignored the bishops’ pleading and went about the business of slaying the communist beast, providing freedom for millions of people in Eastern Europe and, ultimately, the former Soviet Union.

Fast forward to the present, and Pope Leo is castigating President Trump for what, in his opinion, is an unjust, unnecessary war with Iran. And I could live with his remarks, if only he would also chide the remaining mullahs in Iran for their role in causing the war to begin with. The problem is not so much the Pope’s wading into the political arena. As a recent example, St. John Paul II’s influence on liberating Eastern Europe from Soviet communism is undeniably noteworthy. However, if the pope is to get involved in thorny political issues, he needs to decide up front not to choose sides, unless it’s a crystal-clear choice between good and evil, as responding to Soviet communism was in the 1980s.

The Pope, based on Catholic belief, is the representative of Jesus Christ on earth. We can argue all day about the validity of that claim, but where they lose me (and many others, I’m sure) is the claim of papal pronouncements being “infallible” since the pope, in their view, has a direct line to God that mere mortals don’t have. Technically, the infallibility clause only applies to official pronouncements, not to everyday sound bites. However, the mainstream media well knows that many of their viewers don’t make this distinction – therefore, if the pope said it, it must be true and morally right. Never mind that the pope’s initial criticism of Operation Epic Fury came from a meeting/interview with Democrat operative David Axelrod. That alone should raise the antennae of a reasonable person to wonder why the pope has decided to weigh in with a predictable condemnation of Trump that would make Bruce Springsteen, Robert DeNiro, and Democrats far and wide nod in approval.

Unfortunately, President Trump is, by nature, incapable of ignoring any prominent figure’s criticism. Thus, his decision to respond strongly to the pope should surprise no one. In so doing, he seemingly sprung a trap that his enemies had set for him, and the pope, as a Chicago-based liberal, was only too willing to go along. Whether the pope was “in cahoots” with Axelrod and other influential (read: Catholic) Dems is immaterial; all Axelrod needed to do was nudge him in the desired direction. Since his initial critique of the war, the pope has broadened his criticism to a Democrat-like implication that Trump is a “threat to democracy.” This is a tell that the pope, who is certainly no dummy, may be goading Trump into a very public tit-for-tat battle that Trump cannot hope to win. Especially when Trump’s remarks are sprinkled with the inflammatory adjectives (“terrible” for instance) that always get him in hot water with his critics. Even in today’s coarsened culture, using such language against a sitting pope is seen as off-limits by most people. And I don’t disagree with them. A smarter reply, if there had to be one, would have been more along the lines of, “I appreciate Pope Leo’s input, but would also appreciate him not confining his lecture to the United States and Israel, since Iran is the guiltiest party here. We all want peace, but sometimes military action is the only way to ensure a lasting peace.”

In my opinion, Pope Leo is following the example of his predecessor, Pope Francis, in speaking softly (if at all) against issues such as the LGBTQ agenda and abortion, but turning up the volume against American conservatives who favor a closed border, 2^nd amendment rights, and forceful responses to our enemies when needed. Pope Francis’ willingness to have audiences with the likes of abortion-supporting Catholics Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi, and Pope Leo’s audience with Axelrod, show clearly with whom the last two popes align themselves. And we need to be aware of that whenever the pope sounds off on political issues.