I’m very glad for the Pope’s stance against /rump, and I can certainly appreciate why people across various religions and philosophies are siding with the Catholic Church at this time.
But some of us are also conveniently forgetting certain things about the church that are still quite relevant, even in our current political environment.
The Pope has said that “God does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.” Yet the Catholic Church was responsible for launching the Crusades to reclaim Jerusalem from Muslim control.
Yes, this happened a very long time ago; yet it clearly continues to affect things that are happening today. While I quite agree with this Pope’s stance against warmongering, I can’t ignore the fact that Pete Hegseth’s macho-posturing is pretty much a DIRECT CONTINUATION of Catholic Crusader rhetoric. (“Deus vult,” anyone?)
In other words, the current Pope is criticizing Hegseth (and the rest of this administration) for doing the same thing earlier Popes did, while believing “God” was completely and most definitely on their side.
The Catholic Church is also responsible for the medieval Inquisition, which resulted in the senseless murders of thousands of “heretics.” It participated in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. It purchased and owned slaves. It forcibly de-culturalized Native American children, forcing them to convert and even snatching them away from their birth families.
Additionally, the church continues to fund and support anti-LGBTQ+ policies across the world. And lest we forget, it was American Roman Catholics who invented the term “fetal personhood” (which had never existed previously in any culture) during the 1960s.
Even just a few short years ago, the previous Pope made headlines for saying people who choose not to have children, or who prioritize raising animals instead, are “being selfish.” Rather hilarious words from a man who never had any children or pets himself; but my point here is that even THAT Pope was more concerned with other people’s bodies than he should have been.
If we’re talking about immigrants, we are on much steadier ground. The Catholic Church has long been pro-immigrant, and the current Pope is absolutely right to take that stance.
But let’s not forget that more than one thing can be true at the same time. Yes, it’s great the Pope is defending immigrants. But unfortunately, the Catholic Church still doesn’t accept you for being trans. It still wants you to carry your pregnancy to term, even if you were raped. It still believes men are superior to women, that women can’t be ordained. It still harbors and protects abusers, prioritizing them over their victims.
So while we applaud the Pope for his stance against warmongering, let’s not forget that the institution he runs has a horrific legacy that is not limited to ancient history by any means, but which is still happening and hurting innocent people even today.