Pope Leo isn’t afraid of President Trump. We shouldn’t be, either
“I’m not afraid.”
With these three words on Sunday morning, Pope Leo
Three words mocking Trump for being a bully.
Three words that undermine Trump’s smug aura of invincibility.
Three words that will inspire all good people to fight against Trump; for if a gentle man of God like Leo is not afraid, no one should be afraid.
Pope Leo’s words thrilled me as an American, and especially as a Catholic. Since he became pope in May, his quiet and confident witness has rekindled the spiritual light within me to remain more committed to the faith in which I was raised.
Trump’s actions in his second term (war, exiles, ugly rhetoric, and above all, his love for himself) fueled this fire. They go against everything I was taught was good and holy.
Hearing Leo take a simple swipe at the president at a time when so many people insist we must stoop to Trump’s lowest levels to defeat him is like receiving a sacrament I never knew I needed.
Leo spoke just hours after Trump disparaged him on social media. call him “POOR on Crime and Terrible on Foreign Policy” – all because of the Pope’s criticisms of endless wars and this country’s vile treatment of undocumented immigrants and no one mentions his name.
So far.
“I’m not afraid of the Trump administration or speaking out about the message of the Bible, which is the purpose of the church,” he told reporters as he traveled to Algeria to begin a 10-day mission to Africa. He then repeated the message and said, “I’m not afraid.”
In response, Trump melted down like a Nazi at the end of “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” criticizing the pope to reporters and then sharing a photo on social media of himself as a robed savior healing a sick man with light shining from his hands.
This pathetic barrage even irritated Catholic League President Bill Donohue, who has spent a career bashing liberal Catholics and defended Trump last year after the president posted a photo of himself in papal robes and a mitre following the death of Pope Francis. This time, Donohue called Trump’s Christ-like portrayal “offensive and immature.”
President Trump waves as he returns to the White House on Sunday. Pope Benedict XI during a brief conversation with reporters. He described Leo as “very liberal.”
(Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press)
The president has a lot to fear these days, and not just because he violated most of the Ten Commandments with his crazy Jesus post that quickly disappeared. One of the few sane adults left in his administration must have reminded him that antagonizing Catholics was a terrible political move. Nearly 55 percent voted for him in the 2024 elections; most of them sided with Joe Biden, a Catholic, four years ago in swing states like Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
A Fox News poll released last week It turns out that only 48% of Catholics nationwide approve of Trump’s overall performance. While 57 percent of white Catholics still support Trump, a majority are unhappy with his actions in Iran. This issue is becoming a millstone around Trump’s neck.
Trump’s second term has been a nightmare that gets worse with each passing day. But not only is this country still standing, more and more people are realizing that it is a mockery of American values. Leo, one of the new warriors, told reporters he was speaking not to influence politics in his home country but to remind them of what Jesus practiced and preached as the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
No wonder Trump, who wants to erect idols for himself like the king of Canaan, is so upset.
Let’s hope Leo’s words will rally more good people, regardless of their beliefs, against Trump, and especially ex-Catholics to return to the Mother Church.
U.S. Catholics have long served as a barometer of acceptance for newcomers and the working class. But only 20% of Americans identify as Catholic, according to a Pew Research Center study published last year. And only 30% of these Catholics attend weekly mass. Many people are leaving the faith rather than embracing it, at rates that far exceed other Christian denominations. This collapse allowed the conservative wing of the Catholic church to take over, move away from the historic mission, and lead us to Trump instead.
My lifelong commitment to social justice and abiding skepticism of power and greed is at St. Paul’s in Anaheim. It comes from what I learned growing up in St. Boniface. I even had dreams of becoming a priest because I find few things more noble than devoting your life to helping others.
I stopped attending services when I started covering church sexual abuse scandals as a journalist. It angered me that men who saw themselves as God’s guardians on earth not only allowed such crimes to happen, but often covered them up and sent the criminals to poor neighborhoods like mine.
I never stopped praying or considering myself a Catholic; but I couldn’t bring myself to support institutions headed by men like Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gómez and Orange Episcopal Bishop Kevin Vann, who have always had harsh words for progressives but never for Trump.
It has been a long road for me to write openly about my faith with pride; but Trump’s continued heresies have made it necessary. I still don’t know when or if I will start attending mass regularly, but the fact that I’m even thinking about it shows Leo’s influence on me.
Someone I interviewed recently noticed Santo Niño de Atocha with “Amor” written on the other side of my shoulder blade. Last year, I tucked this simple devotional necklace into the plastic case that held my Los Angeles Times pin, along with a few religious medals.
Pope Leo caused this. Trump caused this. I will take every opportunity to talk about my Catholic faith and why Trump is bad.
I’m not afraid.
