The Perils of Playing Papal Politics

The Perils of Playing Papal Politics

This week is absolutely abuzz with the visit of Pope Francis to the United States. Pope Francis, the first Catholic prelate from the Western Hemisphere and, for that matter, the first non-European to ever ascend to the throne of Saint Peter, is enjoying a tour-de-force in his first visit to the United States, with stops in Washington, Philadelphia and New York, and making his presence well known in the halls of power. His stops will have included visits to the White House, meetings with the President, addressing a joint session of Congress, addressing the General Assembly of the United Nations- all in addition to his many pastoral activities, including celebrating Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, where he has canonized Father Junpero Serra into the sainthood of the Catholic Church- the first time any saint has been canonized by a pope while in the Western Hemisphere…history thus made on a profound scale.

His visit to the United States followed his visit to Cuba and its former dictator, Fidel Castro. Reportedly, the pope had a hand in brokering a deal between his ruling brother, Raul Castro, and Barack Obama where full diplomatic relations have been restored, following fifty-six years of what had become stalemated estrangement between the two countries.

The Catholic Church teaches that, on matters of faith and morals, the Pope is infallible- essentially granting his office absolute and unequivocal authority in matters of Catholic doctrine, based upon his predecessor, Saint Peter, being given this authority by Jesus Christ, himself.

This authority, however, does not extend to temporal matters- not in the least. On matters pertaining outside the Church, the Holy See is nothing more than a head of state (the Vatican), and as such, one world leader amongst several. It is in this realm, that his visit to the United States transcends the ecclesiastical and thereby enters into the tempestuous world of politics, where his authority does not present itself- not in any way shape or form.

When the world politic begins to mingle with the world religious and vice-versa, trouble can, and often does rear its ugly head. In the case of the pope’s visit here, both he and political leaders have regrettably wandered into the perils of playing papal politics, where anything said by the pope becomes co-opted by politicians with far more earthly and clandestine agendas. How ironic it is that many politicians on the left, including the president, will attempt use his statements about an array of issues ranging from climate change and open borders to wealth re-distribution and capital punishment, all to advance their own political narratives, while fully-well ignoring his stances on abortion and same-sex marriage. That’s called selective endorsement of papal positioning or, if you will, opportunistic grandstanding, for which they should be ashamed of themselves.

With all due respect to His Holiness, he himself treads these same treacherous waters, when he inserts himself into domestic political discourse and into US foreign policy, as he has evidently done so on several occasions. It is one thing for the Vicar of Christ to spread the good news of the Gospels to all corners of the watching world, but it is quite another to use his offices to declare what is politically moral, and what is not politically moral, as when he said “people who manufacture or invest in weapons cannot call themselves Christians” and, in so doing, essentially seeks to ex-communicate those who happen to make or own guns. Such proselytizing is not consistent with his offices, and it is for this reason that what should otherwise be a celebration of his visit to our country is now sullied in the licentious world of political debate. The same can be said of his apparent displeasure with capitalism, despite the undeniable reality that free-market capitalism has done more- far more, than any other system, to alleviate poverty and lift up millions from want.

Having said this, Pope Francis, himself fully admits that he has not read nor watched the news in more than thirty years, except for a brief daily scan of a Roman newspaper, which means essentially that His Holiness is out of touch with contemporary and worldly politics. With deep and abiding respect for his office, he would do quite well to remain outside this arena when it comes to saying what is and is not correct, for it is neither his purview nor his profession to do otherwise.

That aside, may God bless His Holiness, Pope Francis, and keep him safe in his travels, always.

-Drew Nickell, 24 September 2015

©2015 by Drew Nickell, all rights reserved