President Donald Trump has repeatedly utilized biblical undertones to appeal to voters, even going as far as to print his interpretation of the Bible. Vice President J.D. Vance, a converted Catholic, has cited his theological framework to justify the administration’s policies.
While the president and vice president tout religion, many of their stances go against Christian fundamentals grounded in community, acceptance and love: the discrimination against the transgender community, the intense hatred and fear of immigrants and the overall denouncement of human rights such as free speech.
It should come as no surprise that Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church, has condemned the rhetoric and policies of Trump and Vance.
Francis’ papacy has been dedicated to global migration reform. Francis has challenged Trump’s immigration policy before; however, the pope’s recent letter to American bishops marks the first of such commentary post-inauguration day. His letter marks increased tensions between the Catholic church and the current U.S. presidential administration.
Francis’ stance, although a little too late, should be applauded as he has finally decided to call out hazardous misuse of the Bible and Christian framework as a means to promote a secular political agenda.
“Likewise, Jesus Christ, loving everyone with a universal love, educates us in the permanent recognition of the dignity of every human being, without exception,” Francis wrote. “In fact, when we speak of ‘infinite and transcendent dignity,’ we wish to emphasize that the most decisive value possessed by the human person surpasses and sustains every other juridical consideration that can be made to regulate life in society.”
The law of the land is not the law of Christ. The pope understands that the systematic framework has convoluted many of the simple morals Christians have advocated. It is ironic to sell a Bible in an attempt to appeal to Christian voters and then act in ways that go against the ideology found within said book. The irony only deepens when looking at Vance’s words.
“You love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country,” Vance stated in a Fox News Interview. “And then after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world.”
Vance later commented on the social media platform that his rationale for Trump’s immigration policy was grounded in a Catholic medieval ideal known as “ordo amoris.” The mantra does not exclude. It offers a way in which acceptance and support may be expanded to all.
“The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan’ (cf.Lk10:25-37), that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception,” wrote Francis.
The pope has ruffled feathers within the Trump administration, and it is about time he has done so. The administration continuously gives Christianity a name synonymous with hatred.
The pope’s stance must be spread to all members of Catholicism and other branches of Christianity as a reminder of the true values that those who practice supposedly stand for, rather than the malignant, self-serving reading of scripture that continues to taint the U.S.
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