Did Pope Francis also say McCain, Ducey and Arpaio aren’t Christian?
The Vatican has gone out of its way explaining that Pope Francis’ comments suggesting Donald Trump is not “Christian” weren’t directed at him. We know the pope was answering a direct question about Trump, the guy who pushed himself to the front lines of the Republican presidential race by attacking Mexicans.
But it’s abundantly clear his message was directed at anyone who thinks building walls to keep people out is the right approach to social and political problems.
The way I see it, and the way you should see it, too, the pope was in essence also describing Sen. John McCain, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
The message directly applies to McCain because he flip-flops on immigration issues. He uses it at his convenience.
At one point, McCain co-sponsors comprehensive immigration reform with some sort of path to legalization only to switch gears and instead talk about greater border security because he’s facing a tough re-election.
The senator may have good intentions at times, but, like everyone else, he’s using immigrants as political toys.
The pope’s message is meant for Joe Arpaio. Well, you know why. The sheriff still loves to bully those living here illegally and enjoys rounding them up to send them back to you know where, Mexico, of course, where they belong.
And I’m sure Pope Francis was talking about Ducey. The governor so far has made some positive moves, primarily by not talking much about illegal immigration.
Ducey has, for instance, proposed to permanently fund a state border strike force to combat drug and human trafficking — good move. We don’t want any criminals in our state.
Almost certainly, the governor faces intense pressure to build a wall along the Arizona-Mexico border to send guard troops to do whatever it takes.
So how do we know how the governor will react to those pressures? How do we know what he’s really thinking and planning? Will he wake up one morning and turn into another Arpaio? I hope not. But just in case, let’s remember the pope’s message as he was leaving Mexico.
“A person who thinks only about building walls — wherever they may be — and not building bridges, is not Christian,” he said, according to a translation from the Associated Press. “This is not in the Gospel.” Elvia Díaz is editorial columnist for The Republic and azcentral. Reach her at 602-444-8606 or elvia.diaz@arizonarep ublic.com. Follow her @elviadiaz1.