Pope Francis must warn against Trump
When asked by a reporter about whether he influenced Russia’s hacking of Democratic National Committee emails, Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump exclaimed: “I wish I had that power.” I do not wish that. In recent days, Trump has encouraged Russia to spy on America (he later claimed, not credibly, that his remark had been sarcastic). He has reiterated and broadened his plans to ban Muslims from the United States. He has hosted a convention built around the doom-and-gloom notion that our country is in decline, and Americans are seemingly at imminent risk of being killed by terrorists or criminals.
His Republican Party is caught up in moral turpitude. Older, white, male, voters are playing victims, aiming their resentment at Mexicans and Muslims and other truly vulnerable populations. If Trump wins this election, there can be no walking back of the derisive and divisive Trump Effect.
Trump’s poisonous pandering and serial dishonesty are no accident. Trump wrote in his 1987 book “Art of the Deal” that, “I play to people’s fantasies. People may not always think big themselves, but they can still get very excited by those who do.”
The strategy is to monger fear, then offer himself as the sole solution to a series of scary problems.
It’s been brilliantly effective. To supporters, no fresh outrage or lie or offense seems to matter. They are under his spell.
Despite our trepidations about what a Trump presidency will be, many Americans remain wary of his political opponent, Hillary Clinton. As a former intern, I know how qualified Clinton is to be President. But I also know that she kindles the fire of suspicion that always burns her.
She is, to say the least, an imperfect messenger to warn against Trump.
Instead, we need a respected moral voice to cry out from the wilderness to say no to Trump. Pope Francis has that voice, and he must use it.
Pope Francis stands for fairness, humility, family, opportunity, respect for human rights, and most of all, common decency. He cares about climate change. He cares about the poor and immigrants. He cautions against the “idolatry of money.” He loathes war and suffering.
On all these fronts, Trump would be a disaster.
Domestically, he would sew fear and group blame. Around the world, he would squander America’s moral authority to intervene on humanitarian grounds.
Offending Christian sensibilities, he would order American troops to torture — waterboarding and “much worse.”
His dismissal of climate change as a Chinese hoax would set back hard-won efforts to confront it for decades.
In his personal life, he shows little reverence for the sanctity of the family, and his ghastly insults and self-promotion set an awful example for children.
Some, even some who agree with my harsh diagnosis of Trump, will say that Francis ought to stay away from this and all future elections. They’ll say religious leaders have no business engaging in secular politics.
Others will point out the risks of papal intervention: The Pope essentially called Trump “un-Christian” during the Republican primary, and it only played into the candidate’s hands.
But Trump himself has said he wants to give power “back to the church,” which is now “afraid to be outspoken because they don’t want to lose their tax-exempt status.” He has urged religious leaders to get into the political fray and speak their consciences.
Yes, religion is deeply personal. Yes, thanks to our Founding Fathers, there is no establishment of religion in America. But our civic responsibility to each other is to usher in a world of peace and human flourishing for our children and our children’s children.
The stakes could not be higher. The moral choice could not be clearer. The Pope must speak out.
This is one fight he cannot sit out