American Catholic: Trying Times Indeed
Whatta horrible week to be an American Catholic.
1. We lose Justice Scalia. No more needs to be said.
2. Our Pope makes political statements, all-but saying that, if Donald Trump believes what he says about immigration, he's not a Christian, which is, depending on a number of theological niceties, about as close as you can get to conflating faith and morals (where the Pope reigns supreme) with politics and matters of mundane concern (where he, with many others, has an influential voice that ought to be respected), or, worse, ordaining that someone is going to hell because his views on a political matter don't line up with yours (again, depending on a number of theological niceties--including the age-old question of whether a non-Christian can be saved). I know the Pope didn't mean the latter (the Church assumes no one, not even Stalin and Hitler and Judas, are in hell), but the average American Christian can be forgiven if that's how he interprets the Pope's words.
And yes, I have read the transcript, which can be found here. I'm sick and tired of Catholic media saying, "You have to read the whole transcript. Don't listen to what the media soundbites." Okay, here's the whole thing. You tell me how this isn't a case of the Pope wading into electoral politics:
Phil Pullella, Reuters: Today, you spoke very eloquently about the problems of immigration. On the other side of the border, there is a very tough electoral battle. One of the candidates for the White House, Republican Donald Trump, in an interview recently said that you are a political man and he even said that you are a pawn, an instrument of the Mexican government for migration politics. Trump said that if he's elected, he wants to build 2,500 kilometers of wall along the border. He wants to deport 11 million illegal immigrants, separating families, etcetera. I would like to ask you, what do you think of these accusations against you and if a North American Catholic can vote for a person like this?
Pope Francis: Thank God he said I was a politician because Aristotle defined the human person as 'animal politicus.' At least I am a human person. As to whether I am a pawn, well, maybe, I don't know. I'll leave that up to your judgment and that of the people. And then, a person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not in the Gospel. As far as what you said about whether I would advise to vote or not to vote, I am not going to get involved in that. I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that. We must see if he said things in that way and in this I give the benefit of the doubt.
Granted, it's not as bad as the media portrays, but it is, as Catholic Vote charitably puts it, "regrettable."
And BTW: I at first was willing to give the Holy Father the benefit of the doubt. If you look strictly at what he said ("a person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian"), he was speaking metaphorically. But when you look at the whole thing, putting it into the context of the conversation, it's bad. Politically, he is a liberal and I'm afraid it bleeds into his pontificate at times . . . and it is, indeed, regrettable.
And I will repeat what I've said and written earlier: If Trump sincerely wants to deport 11 million illegal aliens, he is a cruel man, and I can't vote for him.
3. The Eleventh Circuit says EWTN must provide contraceptive health care insurance coverage, even though the Church's belief that contraception is a grave sin is sincerely held. Unbelievable. It now goes to the Supreme Court . . .
. . . where Scalia is dead.
Let the persecution begin . . . and in light of our Holy Father's statements about immigration, I don't think we're going to get a lot of help from our Protestant brethren who might otherwise have come to our aid.
A bad week indeed to be an American Catholic.
