WHAT a contrast! Two men holding powerful positions in their respective stations in life – one who can save souls and the other who can destroy the world.
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV and US President Donald Trump are Americans by birth but today they stand poles apart with the Vicar of Jesus Christ leading a flock of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide (including more than 70 million American Catholics) while Trump rules a nation possessing cataclysmic weapons that can wipe out all of God’s creations.
Leo, formerly US Cardinal Robert Prevost from Chicago, would want to play a prominent role as a peacemaker because he wants to share “God’s peace” with all nations on earth.
This “disarming peace” message is what the international community badly needs as the sounds of war grow alarmingly louder and louder in many corners of the world.
Since his election on May 8 – succeeding the late Pope Francis – the 69-year-old pontiff has already appealed to the major powers to silence the guns of war and live in peace.
The pope’s only weapon in the battle for peace is the power of prayer but it will be tough going when political leaders habitually do not care much for sermons and preachings from the pulpits.
All-American affair
Will Trump behave differently and reverentially listen to whatever advice he has to proffer about the affairs of the world? Perhaps. The president was thrilled to bits when the American cardinal ascended the papal throne, hailing it as an “honour to America”.
In the euphoria, he wants to arrange a meeting with this Chicago guy as soon as possible as if eager to rapturously greet him:
“Hi, bro! You are American, I am American, we can do business!”
In this fellow citizen, Trump may interpret his election as the beginning of an American era in the Roman pontificate in which Washington hopes to exert its influence on the curial palace.
If Pope Leo were to accept his invitation to the White House any time soon, he would most probably be asked to address a joint session of the US Congress because “we all Americans”.
But it is unlikely the Holy Father would rush to Washington. He reportedly does not harbour a favourable opinion of Trump and would not want to give the impression that the Vatican City has an apron string tied to the Oval Office.
If at all, the clergyman must move away from the shadow of the White House so that the world will not accuse him of being a tool of American foreign policy or Trump’s poodle.
Perhaps, both will be dancing around each other for a while as they seize up their respective position.
Dressing down Trump
In any discussion with Trump in the near future, the spiritual man and the temporal leader will surely not be exchanging nostalgic notes on their American background.
Their talks will be dead serious – they will certainly give top priority to the conflicts around the world, especially the fires burning uncontrollably in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Of course, Trump will boast he is already a peacemaker in some hotspots or tried to be one and will piously agree with the pope that the call to peace is more urgent than the call to arms.
However, Pope Leo might also want to “intrude” into American “airspace” and rap Trump’s knuckles for causing – with his controversial domestic policies – so much upheaval, disruption and unhappiness in the land of the free and home of the brave.
Captain America, the world’s most powerful man, might listen deferentially to the Vicar of Christ but as sure as hell, he will listen to his own raw, uncatholic instincts which have enabled him to ride all the way to the pinnacle of political power and smother the spiritual voice of authority.
What can the church teach politicians will be running through his mind.
If Pope Leo were to give Trump a severe dressing down and tell him he lacks conscience in the shaping of his domestic policies, the man’s predictable “official snarling” – the White House treatment – will be heard the world over: “Father, you are fired!” – May 15, 2025
Phlip Rodrigues is a retired journalist.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main image credit: NewsBreak
