Donald Trump and maga Evangelicals never quote Scripture when making excuses for Trumpzism: Try Matthew 19:24

Pope Leo celebrated a God of peace, not war. 

Trump should listen to him.
Pope Leo XIV’s Palm Sunday sermon warned against invoking God to justify violence.  Opinion echo published in the Boston Globe by Joan Vennochi. 

If Donald Trump really hopes to be “knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door,” in Bob Dylan’s famous words, he should pay more attention to Pope Leo XIV — and less to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

Matthew 19:24, Mark 10:25, and Luke 18:25

In his first Palm Sunday sermon, Pope Leo XIV had a message for those who wage war in God’s name. Don’t do it❗

To the tens of thousands who gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the pope said: “This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. God does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.” Quoting scripture, Pope Leo added, “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: Your hands are full of blood.”

While Pope Leo didn’t name names, his words seemed aimed at Pete Hegseth, who recently prayed for US troops to inflict “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy. … We ask these things with bold confidence in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus Christ.”

Perhaps coincidentally, on Palm Sunday, Trump posted a letter on Truth Social from Franklin Graham, the son of the late legendary televangelist Billy Graham, which assured him that his “soul is secure” and he is “bound for heaven.” (Maine Writer- Franklin Graham did not bother to quote Scripture.....he was clearly being politically solicitous. Surely Mr. Graham knows this Scripture passage: Matthew 19:24, Mark 10:25, and Luke 18:25, states: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." This uses extreme hyperbole to highlight that human salvation is impossible through wealth alone.)

Trump spends a considerable amount of time musing about his soul’s final destination, and it’s not for me to say where that might be. While Pope Leo certainly didn’t address it, reading between the lines of his sermon, it does seem that the leader of the Catholic Church has concerns about an administration that casts the cruelty and violence of war as some higher calling for this country and its military.

Good for Pope Leo. As contributing Globe Opinion columnist Alex Beam recently wrote about the role of the Catholic Church in debating the Iran war, “I admire anyone willing to speak for moral authority in a time of rampant dissembling and ‘relative’ truths.” So do I.

Some see Pope Leo, the first American-born pope, as too cautious and diplomatic. He is certainly choosing his words carefully and avoiding direct attacks that call out Trump by name. 

Still, Pope Leo's Palm Sunday message comes across. He has spoken out against Trump’s immigration policies, and suggested that Trump’s treatment of migrants should not be considered pro-life. He now seems to be speaking out more strongly against the war with Iran, moving from a “heartfelt” wish that “diplomacy” would prevail to Palm Sunday’s more overt rhetoric.

Certainly, there’s dissension within the church regarding Trump’s policies, just as there is in the country. The sharpest example is Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, and who backs Trump policies on immigration and war.

But, to revel in the suffering of others and to call for more of it in the name of religion, as Hegseth has done, is chilling, especially as it applies to war.  As an Army civilian who spoke on the condition of anonymity told The Washington Post, if troops are trained to believe that “God is on our side, what precludes us from doing anything we want to win?” To that I would add, what stops the other side from doing the same❓

Hegseth has injected religion into the Pentagon by holding monthly evangelical worship services, the Post reported. Under his leadership, is the United States now fighting a holy war with a Muslim country or one based on goals that have nothing to do with Hegseth’s personal religious beliefs and everything to do with America’s tactical interests❓

Those are questions that Trump should be asking himself, both as commander-in-chief and hopeful candidate for heaven.

Pick your muse, Donald❗ (Assuming Trump knows how to "muse", a big emotional leap, where he cannot create the outcome.)

Is it the blood-thirsty Hegseth, who at a recent prayer service read a passage from the Book of Psalms that said, “I pursued my enemies and overtook them. I did not turn back [till] they were consumed. I thrust them through so that they were not able to rise. They fell under my feet.”

Or is it the pope, who in his sermon on Sunday reminded Christians that when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, “He revealed the gentle face of God, who always rejects violence. Rather than saving himself, he allowed himself to be nailed to the cross, embracing every cross borne in every time and place throughout human history.”

In making his choice, Trump should reread the letter from Graham that he posted on social media. Dated Oct. 15, 2025, Graham praised Trump not for waging war but for overseeing a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, and for the return of hostages. “This is an answer to much prayer,” Graham wrote. “Jesus said, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ (Matthew 5:9) — and Mr. President, that is what you are.”

Agree with that assessment of Trump or not — when you’re knockin’ on heaven’s door, the key of peacemaker is the one I would choose to try to open it.

Joan Vennochi is a Globe columnist.

Can somebody who knows JD Vance please read this essay to him? Vance is a Roman Catholic convert who needs a spiritual refresh

You can tell a lot about someone by what they leave behind.
Echo essay published by Katy McGrady in Substack.

Underlining the Parable of the Good Samaritan
The Ulma Family of Poland are saints for our time.

What family photos were framed on the wall❓

What items were left on a nightstand❓ What stories do people tell about them❓ What passages are highlighted in their Bible❓ 

Wictoria and Jozef Ulman had a single word written in the margins of their family Bible, in the Gospel of Luke, right beside the parable of the Good Samaritan, which they had underlined: Yes❗

That tells us almost everything we need to know about the Ulmas, and what legacy they left behind: the Gospel was real to them.

This Polish farm family, with six children and one on the way, knew the Gospel mandate to care for the tossed down, cast aside, and hurt was not just an abstract idea for preachers at the pulpit. They knew they were called to care for the marginalized themselves, in their real life circumstances, and so when the Szali and Goldman families came to find shelter as the Nazis were rounding up the Jews in 1942, the Ulmas opened their home. 

Their farm became a shelter, and for nearly two years, this Polish Catholic family and these Eastern European Jews lived and worked together, living the parable of the Good Samaritan.

It would’ve been very easy for the Ulmas to say, “we have little kids, we can’t hide you here.” It would’ve been entirely understandable for the Ulmas to say, “we can’t afford to feed you” or “we don’t want to die too.” I’m not sure anyone would’ve blamed Jozef or Wictoria for being fearful or cautious in the face of the evils of the day.

But,  they did not cower. They did not hesitate.

In an interview with Paulina Guzic for OSV, (Our Sunday Visitor) the postulator of the Ulma canonization cause said this:

“It is sometimes said that they behaved downright irresponsibly by taking in all these Jews. After all, they risked their lives, the lives of their children. And Wiktoria was soon expecting the birth of this next, seventh child. Well, it’s precisely the opposite. In their lives you can see a deep desire to live. They very much wanted to live … constantly discovering the Lord God, the beauty of everyday life, the beauty of life.”

They were eventually sold out by a policeman who knew their whereabouts, bringing the German police to their front door, leading to their brutal execution in the front yard. 17 people total, including the six Ulma children, were shot and killed in a matter of minutes, all so the Nazis could make an example of them. 

Eyewitness accounts include the horrific details that as the adults were shot and killed, the children stood by screaming and crying. 

Not knowing what to do with these children in the aftermath, the police decided to shoot and kill them too. When asked about it later, Eilert Dieken, the German commander, responded: So that you would not have any problems with them.

The Ulmas, in the face of unspeakable evil, believed the mandate of the Gospel: they were moved with compassion, they attended to their neighbor, they treated others with mercy, and were killed for it.

The Ulma family was beatified together in 2023. This is the first time an entire family, including a child who was being born at the time of his mother’s martyrdom, were all raised to the altars together.

A monument to their heroism and sanctity stands in Markowa with these words:

Saving the lives of others they laid down their own lives. Hiding eight elder brothers in faith, they were killed with them. May their sacrifice be a call for respect and love to every human being! They were the sons and daughters of this land; they will remain in our hearts.

In light of everything happening in our country and world, in the face of remarkable injustice, visible violence, horrific destruction, and deep division, I can’t help but ask the Ulma family for their intercession.
Can I too say “Yes❗” to the command of the parable of the Good Samaritan? Am I willing to help those who have been tossed down, cast aside, and rounded up?

At the heart of the Good Samaritan parable is someone beaten down, and someone passing by sees the injustice, hurt, pain, and suffering, and decides to help.

As videos of the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday, January 24, 2026, circulated, what happened mere moments before his death is notable: he was trying to help a woman tossed down on the ice.

Political commentary and vastly varied opinions about what’s happening with immigration enforcement and protesting aside, it’s evident that a man was killed — after a confusing scrum and in the midst of a tense situation — after his last earthly act was to try and help someone stand back up.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s statement after yet another tragedy in his Archdiocese is poignant:

“Following January 24, 2026, Saturday’s tragic shooting in Minneapolis, I ask all people of good will to join me today in prayer for Alex Jeffrey Pretti, for his parents, and for his loved ones.

The loss of another life amidst the tensions that have gripped Minnesota should prompt all of us to ask what we can do to restore the Lord’s peace. While we rightly thirst for God’s justice and hunger for his peace, this will be not be achieved until we are able to rid our hearts of the hatreds and prejudices that prevent us from seeing each other as brothers and sisters created in the image and likeness of God. That is as true for our undocumented neighbors as it is for our elected officials and for the men and women who have the unenviable responsibility of enforcing our laws. They all need our humble prayers.”

Perhaps the only way to see the image and likeness of God in another is to first and foremost remember we’re all called to be a good samaritan: to help others up when they’ve been pushed down, to offer shelter when we have room, and to see the goodness of God in even the most heartbreaking moments.

As Archbishop Coakley, president of the USCCB said in his statement:

“As a nation we must come together in dialogue, turning away from dehumanizing rhetoric and acts which threaten human life. In this spirit, in unity with Pope Leo, it is important to proclaim, ‘Peace is built on respect for people!’”

A priest I know and respect in the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis, who is also a chaplain in the Minnesota National Guard, gave a very short and powerful homily yesterday. It’s worth watching in full.

Yesterday, at the Angelus address at noon above St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo spoke about the timing and place of Jesus’s mission. When John the Baptist was arrested, he could’ve perhaps been tempted to think “not the right time.” As his cousin is imprisoned, he could’ve perhaps assumed “not the right place.”

And yet… “it was precisely in this dark situation that Jesus began to bring the light of the Good News: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near’.”

If these moments seems like they are heavy, or dark, or hopeless, or terrifying, the courage of the Ulmas can remind us that the Gospel is real, and the Gospel, proclaimed by you, is needed most, right now.

“In our lives, both individually and as a Church, interior struggles or circumstances we deem unfavorable can lead us to believe that it is not the right time to proclaim the Gospel, to make a decision, to make a choice, or to change a situation. 

In this way, however, we risk becoming paralyzed by indecision or imprisoned by excessive prudence, whereas the Gospel calls us to dare to trust. God is at work at all times; every moment is “God’s time,” even when we do not feel ready or when the situation seems unfavorable.”

We must dare to trust. In justice and healing, in mercy and forgiveness. We must dare to hope, that God is not (nor will he ever be) finished. We must dare to believe, that God is working, even still, even when it’d be far easier to close the door, ignore the news, or try and pretend it’s all just going to be fine.

 

And as Pope Leo said, our God is one who “…enters fully into the complexity of human situations and relationships.”

This is not a moment for ceaseless news commentary. It’s not just a moment for video analysis or hand wringing. It’s a moment for Gospel proclamation, because only then can the Gospel serve “…as a leaven of fraternity and peace among all individuals, cultures, religions and peoples.”

And what does the Gospel proclaim❓ What should we write Yes❗ to in the margins of our Bible❓

He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn and cared for him. -Luke 10:34

Donald Trump and maga Republicans are using SNAP money for political purposes: Middle Class are worried about hunger

The Human Toll of the Suspension of SNAP (Suplemental Nutrition): The food-assistance program serves around forty-two million Americans. In Texas, even people with decent jobs are feeling the pain.  Echo report published in The New Yorker Magazine, by Rachel Monroe.

Angel Goodwin used to work remotely, processing applications for Medicaid and for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. People would sometimes yell at her over the phone—“I’ve been called every name but a child of God,” she said—but it was worse when they cried. 

“Especially the elderly. They would be approved for, like, thirty dollars a month, and they’re getting Social Security for, like, nine hundred and forty-three dollars. They’d be, like, ‘Honey, I can’t—I don’t know what I’m going to do, I don’t have anybody.’ ” Goodwin, a single mother with an eleven-year-old son, also received SNAP benefits. “Little do they know I’m in the same boat,” she said.

Earlier this year, Goodwin began to feel pain shooting down from her shoulder, most likely a consequence of repetitive computer work. At the beginning of October, she took a short-term disability leave. Then, toward the end of the month, she logged in to her SNAP account and saw an alarming notification: November benefits weren’t coming. She and her son had already scaled back to subsist on the short-term disability benefits, which were “not very much at all,” she said. Now they’d have to make do with less, even as food prices seemed to get higher every week. “Personally, my faith will always outweigh my fear,” she said. “But it’s at a scary point now.”

Amid the prolonged government shutdown, which is now the longest in American history, SNAP benefits have (sadly 😯😥) become a political football. 

Although in previous shutdowns, emergency funds were used to cover the SNAP program, which serves around forty-two million Americans, but the cruel Trump Administration has declined NOT to do so. A number of states stepped in to cover the gap, or to provide additional money to food banks; Texas, which has a multibillion-dollar rainy-day fund, has done neither. (H-E-B, the grocery-store chain which arguably serves as a second layer of social services in the state, has donated six million dollars to food banks.) At the end of October, a federal judge ordered the Administration to continue SNAP payments. But, several days later, there was nothing in Goodwin’s SNAP account; the Administration has said that November payments will be only partial, and it’s unclear when the funds will arrive.

Goodwin, who grew up in South Carolina, had what she describes as “a pretty rough childhood.” In her early twenties, she cut ties with her family, and found herself with a young child and no real support system. She slept on friends’ couches and then, when she felt her welcome wearing out, in her car.


Being homeless was tolerable—“You meet cool people on the streets, people with wisdom,” she said—but she wanted her son to have a more stable life. She got a job working the night shift at a gas station, and earned enough money to move into a hotel where she paid by the week. It took two years to save up enough to cover a deposit to rent a small apartment. “I didn’t have any furniture—no couch or anything like that, just a couple of pans that I’d had in the hotel,” she said.

“We pretty much slept on the floor. We literally started from zero.” When she felt overwhelmed, she prayed to God for guidance. She began having dreams about Texas, the state’s outline popping up in unexpected places. In her journal, she asked God if this was really what he wanted her to do— she’d never left South Carolina before. Yes, was the answer she received, so she began researching apartments online. 

By now, she was working remotely as a customer-service representative for a bank, but she’d need more money to fund the move. On YouTube, she learned about retail arbitrage—essentially, buying discounted items in bulk and then reselling them on Amazon at a markup. The scheme eventually stopped working, but by then she’d saved up enough money to cover the deposit on an apartment in Houston.

Two years ago, she moved into a renovated two-bedroom with pale-gray walls and a bright, narrow kitchen. Her days were taken up with work and with homeschooling her son.

On the morning of November 3rd, day three of no SNAP, Goodwin put her son in the car and drove twenty-five minutes to the West Houston Assistance Ministries, a nonprofit social-services organization, which was hosting a special food-distribution event for SNAP recipients. When she arrived, at around 9 A.M., a line of cars snaked down the block, and volunteers in neon vests directed traffic. Nationwide, fourteen per cent of households are considered food-insecure. In Harris County, which comprises Houston, the figure is close to forty per cent. 

WHAM had seen a notable uptick in need since the shutdown began, on October 1st. “We’ve been focussed on food, but we’ve also seen an increase in evictions—it’s a crisis on top of a crisis,” Neysa Gavion, a social worker and a senior case manager at WHAM, told me. “And the interesting thing is, while we’ve always had people at the poverty line or below, this is the middle class.” 

Recently, the organization had provided assistance to an I.R.S. employee and single mother who was days from being evicted. “People that weren’t impacted before are being impacted now,” Gavion said. A retired woman waiting in line told me that she had contemplated growing her own food. “I got a little balcony. Maybe I can grow some beans?” she said.

A sound system played nineties country and sixties pop, while another group of volunteers carried crates of milk out of the sun. Under a blue shade tent, a woman named Destaney handed out information about food banks and assistance programs. Destaney works at WHAM a few days a week as part of her coursework at community college, where she’s studying to be a paralegal. 

In class, all anyone wanted to talk about was politics, ICE apprehensions, and the shutdown. “At first it didn’t affect me directly, but I get food stamps, too,” she said. “Today, when I woke up and I didn’t get them, I’m, like, O.K., this is really real.”

Goodwin’s car inched forward until she reached the front of the line. She popped her trunk and a volunteer placed a box inside. Another volunteer offered Goodwin a bouquet of flowers that still had a day or two of life in them. Goodwin, surprised, thanked her effusively. When she got back to her apartment, she sent her son into the other room to resume his lesson—he was learning about phytoplankton—as she surveyed the box’s contents: a bag of grapes, some chicken, a can of SpaghettiOs, a gallon of milk. “He loves SpaghettiOs, so that will be his school lunch,” Goodwin said. She had a small stockpile of dried beans, rice, and canned vegetables, some of it from other food banks. “I’ll make it work. There are recipes on YouTube. Or you just put random ingredients into ChatGPT,” she said. The other day she’d made a slow-cooked stew with green beans and turkey legs which she’d served over rice. It had looked (and tasted) good enough that she’d taken a video of it bubbling on the stove. “Everything but the turkey legs came from the food bank,” she said.

Online, people were saying that a judge had told Donald Trump that he’d have to release SNAP funds, but Goodwin wasn’t putting too much stock into that. “It’s just so hard to tell. I think it may start up again in December, or maybe something supplemental will happen. Honestly, to be completely transparent with you, I try not to put my faith in the system,” she said. 

In the meantime, when she got overwhelmed, she asked ChatGPT for help. “I just say, ‘I’m feeling really frustrated now. Please give me some tools to calm my mind.’ ” 

Donald Trump is a terrible leader his incendiary rhetoric is stirring up the entire nation when his job is to call for healing- God Bless Erika Kirk

Editorial echo published by the Baltimore Sun newspaper:

If the Charlie Kirk memorial last Sunday in Arizona was a test of faith — if all those in assembly wanted to demonstrate their support for the slain conservative activist, for his religious beliefs he held, for the causes he espoused and for his grieving family — then it was mission accomplished. 

HELLO❗With one notable exception❗ 💥When the final speaker took the podium to eulogize the 31-year-old head of Turning Point USA and father of two young children, the man so many before him had praised for his commitment to his family and his Christian faith, that individual was clear and unambiguous in his views on forgiveness and redemption and second chances.

He was having none of it.

Whom the gods would destroy, they first fill with hate.

“He did not hate his opponents,” Donald Trump said of Kirk. “He wanted the best for them. That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponents, and I don’t want the best for them. 🙄I’m sorry.”😕😠

Hate, as Captain Ahab discovered in Moby Dick, is ruinous. It metastasizes like cancer, reproducing itself at warp speed. And to hear Trump embrace it, even as thousands prayed, sang to Christian contemporary music and spoke of better days ahead at the combination religious service and political rally, was deeply disappointing. Not entirely surprising, but disappointing nonetheless.
What a contrast to Kirk’s widow. Erika Kirk 😢echoed Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, in expressing forgiveness, not hate, for her husband’s assassin. Tearful, sometimes shaking and looking upward as if to meet her late husband’s gaze from heaven, she spoke with the magnanimous spirit of Jesus in Luke 23:34, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

It was jarring, appalling and churlishly rude (add "sinful") that Trump would reject that spirit of the moment — and the will of the Kirks — in celebrating hate. So unabashedly. So myopically. 

So narcissistically. Trump fulminated at Charlie’s funeral. Given this remarkable opportunity to bind the nation’s wounds, as a certain president once sought to do, he instead spoke of hate.

Such hatred is unbefitting of anyone. It is especially unbefitting for a president who is supposed to be a role model for the country.

Do many of Trump’s opponents reciprocate his hate? Absolutely, but that is no excuse. President Abraham Lincoln was reviled unmercifully by many during the Civil War. Yet in his second inaugural address, the great man preached, “With malice toward none with charity for all with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan — to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

Hate engendered the climate that provoked Kirk’s assassin. Continuing down that path risks more of the same. 

Where is the adult in the living room who will tell Trump, “No,” even with the high risk of provoking retribution❓ No nation can survive without courage. It occupies the summit of virtues because it makes all others possible.

We strongly urge Donald Trump to retract his embrace of hate. His stated ambition is to surpass George Washington as the greatest U.S. president. He can start by following Washington’s admonition at the constitutional convention: “Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest may repair.” Let us at least attempt to have a civil conversation about our disagreements — or at least not boast about our hatred for each other.

Baltimore Sun editorial writers offer opinions and analysis on news and issues relevant to readers. 

A Memorial Day meditation about Pope Leo XIV's message call for peace to the world

Bridge Builders In A Broken World
By Maria Shriver
May 24, 2025
I've Been Thinking...

Pope Leo XIV building bridges in a troubled world

Pope Leo XIV has had me thinking ever since I attended his inaugural mass last Sunday. I haven’t been able to shake him since I got home.

There were no shortage of other stories competing for my attention this week. Some of them provoked outrage (like the news of the young Jewish couple shot outside the Israeli embassy or that people continue to starve in Gaza). Other stories stirred disbelief (like the president’s commercialization of the office to advance his personal wealth, or his confrontational meeting this week with the South African president)...

But thankfully, Pope Leo helped me rise above the noise and heartbreak of the week. My experience seeing him in Rome didn’t just stay in my head. It settled in my heart.

I saw his gentle gaze and smiling eyes up close. I watched him look down at his papal ring and stare for just a moment too long, as if to fully grapple with the enormity of his new role. I could tell he was moved and, at the same time, totally comfortable in his own skin.

Since attending his inaugural mass, I’ve been listening, learning, and absorbing. I listened to his thoughts on the need for critical thinking skills in today’s world. I loved that. I listened to his teachings about building bridges through dialogue and connection, joining together as one people, united in peace. I listened to him express his fears about becoming pope, which I found refreshing. And I took note when he announced that, under his direction, the Vatican would host peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.

The bridge builder—this man of peace—is off to a remarkable start.

On this Memorial Day, a day to honor those who gave their lives serving in wars for our country, I am grateful to Pope Leo for stressing the importance of peace. So many have died fighting for our freedom, and so many are still losing their lives due to war. I’m hopeful that peace can be achieved in all places where war still rages. I’m grateful for the pope’s words on this subject and for his behind-the-scenes maneuvering with those who attended his inaugural mass or watched from beyond.

All of us need someone who has spent their life preparing for this kind of moment. Someone who has prepared in every way to stand strongly in this moment. 

When I look at Pope Leo and reflect on all he went through to get to this place, I’m reminded of the value of preparation.

Here is a man who has been preparing his whole life for this moment.

A man who thinks deeply, reflects daily, and prays constantly. He’s well-read, well-educated, and well-traveled. He seems to have emotional intelligence in addition to intellectual intelligence. Those are all important qualities for leadership, especially in times like these.

Our world is complicated. The issues we face are complex. There are no easy answers to the problems that sit on any leader’s table.

I imagine your kitchen table might hold its own complex issues—financial challenges, family and caregiving concerns, mental health struggles, demands on time, and other wants, needs, and desires. No doubt that each of us has had to think and discern about how to juggle both the ordinary and complex. I know I have—and that I still do.

Times such as this require calm. They require centered, confident responses to the issues that come up every minute of every day.

When I think ahead, at times the future can feel daunting. I find myself thinking about things today that I never thought about as a young girl or as a young mother. I listen to my adult children discuss their fears about climate change, about artificial intelligence, and about bringing kids into such a fragile world. Their view of politics and politicians is ugly, divisive, and uninspired. That breaks my heart.

There were no shortage of other stories competing for my attention this week. Some of them provoked outrage (like the news of the young Jewish couple shot outside the Israeli embassy or that people continue to starve in Gaza). Other stories stirred disbelief (like the president’s commercialization of the office to advance his personal wealth, or his confrontational meeting this week with the South African president)...

But thankfully, Pope Leo helped me rise above the noise and heartbreak of the week. My experience seeing him in Rome didn’t just stay in my head. It settled in my heart.

I saw his gentle gaze and smiling eyes up close. I watched him look down at his papal ring and stare for just a moment too long, as if to fully grapple with the enormity of his new role. I could tell he was moved and, at the same time, totally comfortable in his own skin.

Since attending his inaugural mass, I’ve been listening, learning, andabsorbing. I listened to his thoughts on the need for critical thinking skills in today’s world. I loved that. I listened to his teachings about building bridges through dialogue and connection, joining together as one people, united in peace. I listened to him express his fears about becoming pope, which I found refreshing. And I took note when he announced that, under his direction, the Vatican would host peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.

The bridge builder—this man of peace—is off to a remarkable start.

On this Memorial Day, a day to honor those who gave their lives serving in wars for our country, I am grateful to Pope Leo for stressing the importance of peace. So many have died fighting for our freedom, and so many are still losing their lives due to war. I’m hopeful that peace can be achieved in all places where war still rages. I’m grateful for the pope’s words on this subject and for his behind-the-scenes maneuvering with those who attended his inaugural mass or watched from beyond.

All of us need someone who has spent their life preparing for this kind of moment. Someone who has prepared in every way to stand strongly in this moment. When I look at Pope Leo and reflect on all he went through to get to this place, I’m reminded of the value of preparation.

Here is a man who has been preparing his whole life for this moment.

A man who thinks deeply, reflects daily, and prays constantly. He’s well-read, well-educated, and well-traveled. He seems to have emotional intelligence in addition to intellectual intelligence. Those are all important qualities for leadership, especially in times like these.

Our world is complicated. The issues we face are complex. There are no easy answers to the problems that sit on any leader’s table.

I imagine your kitchen table might hold its own complex issues—financial challenges, family and caregiving concerns, mental health struggles, demands on time, and other wants, needs, and desires. 

No doubt that each of us has had to think and discern about how to juggle both the ordinary and complex. I know I have—and that I still do.

Times such as this require calm. They require centered, confident responses to the issues that come up every minute of every day.

When I think ahead, at times the future can feel daunting. I find myself thinking about things today that I never thought about as a young girl or as a young mother. I listen to my adult children discuss their fears about climate change, about artificial intelligence, and about bringing kids into such a fragile world. Their view of politics and politicians is ugly, divisive, and uninspired. That breaks my heart.

It’s so different from the image I had growing up. Back then, politics was where people went to work if they wanted to change the world.

The political leaders of my time were well-educated and inspiring.

They had served their country. They were well-respected and well-mannered. Sure, they disagreed, but they did so with respect. They gave you hope. They gave you a sense that it wasn’t their first rodeo, and that they understood the country, the American people, and the world at large. To me, as a young girl, they seemed prepared for the job at hand.

I’ve thought a lot over the years about the importance of preparation and working your way up the ladder, so that when your moment comes, you’re ready. Of course, none of us ever feels fully ready when stepping into a new leadership role—whether it’s as a mother, a father, a caregiver, or a boss.

I remember when I was thrust into the role of First Lady of California.

Every day, I thanked God for the experience I had in journalism and politics—for the fact that I understood the push and pull of the job before I ever set foot in the Capitol. The same was true when I became an anchorwoman. I was terrified, but grateful I had spent years in the field—writing, producing, reporting. I had years under my belt, so to speak.

I say all this to honor the years of preparation so many put in across various professions. Before they operate on someone. Before they lead a state. Before they assume a high-level job—or a complex one that, as the pope said, requires critical thinking, reflection, and discernment.

It’s so different from the image I had growing up. Back then, politics was where people went to work if they wanted to change the world.

The political leaders of my time were well-educated and inspiring.

They had served their country. They were well-respected and well-mannered. Sure, they disagreed, but they did so with respect. They gave you hope. They gave you a sense that it wasn’t their first rodeo, and that they understood the country, the American people, and the world at large. To me, as a young girl, they seemed prepared for the job at hand.

I’ve thought a lot over the years about the importance of preparation and working your way up the ladder so that when your moment comes, you’re ready. Of course, none of us ever feels fully ready when stepping into a new leadership role—whether it’s as a mother, a father, a caregiver, or a boss.

I remember when I was thrust into the role of First Lady of California.

Every day, I thanked God for the experience I had in journalism and politics—for the fact that I understood the push and pull of the job before I ever set foot in the Capitol. 

In fact, the same was true when I became an anchorwoman. I was terrified, but grateful I had spent years in the field—writing, producing, reporting. I had years under my belt, so to speak.

I say all this to honor the years of preparation so many put in across various professions. Before they operate on someone. Before they lead a state. Before they assume a high-level job—or a complex one that, as the pope said, requires critical thinking, reflection, and discernment.

Memorial Day. ⭐ It’s also the unofficial start of summer—traditionally a time when some take amomentary step off the hamster wheel. Some get married. Some travel. Some take breaks to rest or to visit with family. As for me, this weekend I find myself in a place of deep contemplation and exploration.

My book tour is now behind me. It was a busy several weeks, but it was an inspiring, moving, and thought-provoking experience. It was as if I’d been preparing for this moment my whole life.

And speaking of preparation, I wish you all could have been at the WAM Forum with me this past week.

To be in the room with people who have dedicated their lives to curing disease—to solving the health challenges that plague millions, especially those of us who are aging—was awe-inspiring.

They are thinking deeply about Alzheimer’s, about aging, about women’s health, about caregiving, science, research, and how to support the most vulnerable among us. You would have left feeling hopeful. I know I did.

So as I head into this holiday weekend, I’m prepared to spend some time thinking about my “yeses.” As I wrote last week, I’m prepared to think about what it means to be a bridge builder and a uniter like Pope Leo. We can’t leave that job to one person. We all have roles to play.

I also want to reflect on the role of this publication, in particular. I want to ask myself where it’s going, if it’s serving a purpose, and if it’s necessary in a time like this. I want it to be, so I have to drill down and ask whether it’s helping people build their meaning lives and whether it’s bringing hope and meaning to those who need it. I’m well aware that there are now thousands of publications vying for your time, attention, and resources. That’s why one has to be excellent and necessary and prepared to meet the moment at hand.

I’m also prepared to think about the unimaginable. What haven’t I thought about? What might surface if I give my mind the freedom to roam? It’s a good time to put it all on the table and ask: Do I still want what’s here? Is what’s on my table serving me? Is it serving others—those I care about and love?

It’s as good a time as any to think about your one meaningful life—how precious it is, how fragile it is.

Reading about the hopes of the young Jewish couple struck down this week in Washington DC simply because they were Jewish should send a chill down all of our spines. They were planning to be engaged, now their families are planning funerals. We are all vulnerable in this moment. Therefore, shouldn’t we all want to come together in this moment to protect one another, care for one another, support one another, build bridges towards one another?

I hope so because the alternative leaves us all alone, unprotected, unsafe. We can come together and we must.

Happy Memorial Day, my friends. I hope you smile this weekend. 

I hope you laugh. I hope you talk to someone who inspires you. And I hope you take a moment to think about your own role in bringing about peace—for yourself, your family, and the world.

Immigration: Evangelical Christians join Catholics to support immigrants and oppose "largest deportation"

Deuteronomy 10:18
“He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.”

Echo opinion by Reid Ribble, published in the Green Bay Press Gazette:

When the former guy Trump visited Wisconsin (early April 2024), his primary campaign message focused on immigrants, whom he described as “the worst of every country” invading and threatening the well-being of the United States. Earlier, he insisted that some immigrants are “not humans, they’re animals.”

“La Sagrada Familia” – shows the Flight into Egypt with the Holy Family depicted as Latin American migrants. Painted the day after the 2016 presidential election, the icon went viral on social media and ended up serving as the cover art for a collection of Pope Francis’ writings on welcoming migrants and refugees.

Trump also insisted in Green Bay that Christian voters will turn out on Election Day “in numbers no one has ever seen before,”👀😕😞 presumably inspired by his rhetoric on immigration.

But as both a former Republican member of Congress who represented Green Bay and — more central to my identity, an evangelical Christian — my plea to the former president would be to speak of and pursue policies that impact immigrants in ways guided by the Bible. Immigrants, like all human beings, are people “fearfully and wonderfully made” in the image of God, with inherent dignity and value, regardless of their country of origin, ethnicity, religion or any other qualifier.

“Refugees: The Holy Family” by Kelly Latimore. 

Christians also believe that all human beings, including immigrants, are sinners in need of God’s grace. A few have committed heinous criminal offenses, and when they do, they absolutely should face both the criminal justice system and then deportation. 

But it’s wrong to judge millions of people by the actions of a few, especially when there is abundant evidence that immigrants, whether lawfully present or not, actually commit crimes at significantly lower rates per capita than native-born U.S. citizens. For example, a study using data from the state of Texas found that citizens had a per capita crime rate more than double that of immigrants in the country unlawfully, whether looking at property, drug or violent crimes.

A singular focus on the relatively few immigrants who may be a threat to public safety also obscures the many ways that immigrants economically, socially and spiritually contribute to our community. As evangelical leader Ed Stetzer has observed, “The Mexican immigrant in your community is more likely to be a pastor than he is to be a criminal.” As the United States rapidly secularizes, the large majority of immigrants are either Catholic or evangelical Christians who tend to hold to traditional family values.

Evangelical voters believe in the dignity of immigrants’ lives: Lifeway Research finds that 91% of all evangelicals want immigration policy solutions that “respect the God-given dignity” of each person.

Almost all evangelicals, like most Americans, want secure borders and respect for the rule of law, but they also want compassion. Fully 78% of evangelicals, including 71% of those who supported Trump in the 2020, election, say they would support legislation that would pair border security improvements with a restitution-based legalization process and path to citizenship for immigrants in the country unlawfully.

Ninety-one percent of evangelicals want policies that keep families together — which is inconsistent with the “largest deportation in American history” promised by Trump, which would separate U.S. citizens from their foreign-born spouse or parents. And 71% of evangelicals believe the U.S. has a moral responsibility to welcome refugees.

Many churches in northeastern Wisconsin have partnered with ministries, like World Relief Wisconsin, to welcome newly arriving refugees, and as we’ve done so, these immigration issues have become personal. 

By maligning immigrant families who have become dear friends, Trump risks alienating evangelical Wisconsinite voters whom he says he wants to show up in record numbers on Election Day. And last week’s primary election results, where one in five Republican voters cast a protest vote for a non-Trump candidate no longer in the race, suggest he has a serious problem.

If Trump, or Biden, wants to appeal to Christian voters, they would do well to use language and pursue policies that reflect the dignity of each person as made in the Image of God.

Reid Ribble represented Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District from 2011 to 2017.

Donld Trump followers worship a false idol

Messianic Trump Syndrome: The “Shared Psychosis” of Trumpianity. So glad to have found this echo essay published in GodFaithMedia by Bruce T. Gourley. 

“I am your voice.” 😨 “I am your warrior.”😒
“I am the chosen one.”😲
“I am your retribution.” 🙄 
“I’m being indicted for you.” 😅

The “I am” statements keep coming from the self-proclaimed messiah who, in reality, is a malignant narcissist, pathological liar,👺 sexual predator, career conman and America’s biggest criminal—and a man that millions of white American Christians actually believe is their messiah. His dark charisma is so appealing to so many that for much of white American Christianity today, being a follower of anti-Christ Trump is their very identity.

Millions, dismissing Jesus’ inclusive, compassionate and peaceful life and teachings, hang on their extremist political messiah’s every word. So widespread is Trump’s messianic following that some mesmerized adherents of Trumpianity have been known to praise their savior’s divinity on billboards and in books.

There is a backstory to this madness: Much of white American Christianity—from enslaving Black people to racial apartheid to violent resistance to human rights—has long marinated in white pride and an overriding lust for power. Anti-Christ Donald Trump is the historical dark side of white American Christianity on steroids: unquenchable authoritarianism with an endless capacity to punish anyone who stands in his way of obtaining ultimate power.

Today, a seemingly endless army of white Christian extremist organizations are hard at work rallying a Trumpian army to the cause of overthrowing our democracy and implementing a theocracy with Trump as king. Having discarded Jesus of the gospels, they retain “Christian” language in service of their new savior. One of these organizations—the Family Leadership Summit, representative of the many—speaks for Trumpianity at large in falsely claiming to “embrace Christian values and a God-honoring vision for America.”

How extremist are the alleged “Christian values” and “God-honoring vision” of Trumpianity? They place lies over truth, corruption over justice, hatred over love, cruelty over mercy, violence over peace, death over life.

As messiah of this extremist political religion, Trump has: lied tens of thousands of times to cover up truth; brazenly committed crimes rather than obey the law (91 felony charges and counting at this moment); endlessly pretended that hatred and persecution of people of color, women, LGBTQ+ persons and liberals is love; routinely called for cruelty against persons who do not bow down to his wishes; bragged that he could personally murder someone and get away with it; and called on his followers to harm and even kill others at his will, most notably on January 6.

So normalized Trumpianity has become that white American Christianity—of which Trump-worship is not by any stretch representative of the whole—is no longer publicly perceived as a religion, but rather an extremist political ideology fostering domestic religious terrorism throughout Trump’s presidency to the present day.

As our nation descended into and now remains mired in Donald Trump’s darkness and violence, hundreds of psychologists and psychiatrists have warned us of the existentialist dangers posed by the man with a messiah complex.

Interviewed for a 2021, Scientific American article titled “The ‘Shared Psychosis’ of Donald Trump and His Loyalists,” forensic psychiatrist Bandy X. Lee dug deeper into Trump’s messiah-like influence over his followers. “Shared psychosis,” she noted, is also known as “‘folie à millions’ [‘madness for millions’] when occurring at the national level.”

The “emotional bonds” Trump “has created facilitate shared psychosis at a massive scale,” she continues. “When a highly symptomatic individual is placed in an influential position, the person’s symptoms can spread through the population through emotional bonds, heightening existing pathologies and inducing delusions, paranoia and propensity for violence—even in previously healthy individuals.”

Messianic cult leaders and followers are as one. In Trump’s own words: “I am your voice.” “I am your warrior.” “I am the chosen one.” “I am your retribution.” “I’m being indicted for you.”

Today, more than 1,100 of Trump’s January 6 domestic terrorists have been arrested, and more than 300 sentenced to prison. Bewilderingly, some who are now incarcerated still perceive Trump to be their messiah, testimony to the psychological dynamics between cult leader and followers as explained by psychiatrist Lee.

And still Trump calls for the death of many who oppose his messianic mission, his self-glorifying, delusional, murderous agenda supported by nearly two-thirds of Republican voters—most of whom are self-identified “Christians.” 

In due time, the self-proclaimed “chosen one” will likely be justly imprisoned for his unprecedented crimes against the United States of America and his fellow Americans. How the “madness” of Trump’s “millions” of worshipers reacts to the incarceration of their messiah will determine what happens next.

Donald Trump cannot even read a Bible but now selling them? Hypocrisy on steroids!

Letters to the Editor: A Trump Bible? What’s next from the huckster-in-chief? Burial plots on Mars? Published in The Los Angeles Times:

Would you buy a Bible 📖 from this orange hypocrite? Not me!

Donald Trump moved on from selling trading cards and sneakers to selling Bibles during Holy Week✝️. 😒

This is disgusting. Just as Jesus drove the money changers from the Temple, can all of us unite to drive Trump from American politics? 

John 2:13-25 Jesus & the Money Changers in the Temple

From William Dodd Brown, in Chicago

It looks 👀as if the former president (tRumpzi❗) is about to add to some of his failed ventures, which have included Trump steaks, golden tennis shoes, Trump University, wineries, casinos, real estate, golf courses and too many more to count. Now his latest racket, and the lowest of the lows, is selling a Bible, which includes the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, Pledge of Allegiance and the lyrics to “God Bless the USA.” 

Trump's shameless attempts to separate his loyal followers from their money is quite despicable. Any way to make a buck is his method of madness. What’s next? Burial plots on Mars? It’s truly enough and the insanity must stop.

From Frances Terrell Lippman, in Sherman Oaks

To the editor: Well, perhaps Trump has decided “dictator” isn’t high enough. By publishing his version of the Bible, he’s reaching for God status.  Nothing is sacred in Trump’s world. 

From Christine Sanchez, Los Angeles