Stay in your lane! You are Pope; heir of St. Peter; teacher and governor of the Catholic Church; a poor sinner called to strengthen your brothers and sisters in the faith; a source of unity for the global Church; protector of the Deposit of Faith.
Renounce the clericalist temptation to be spiritual Caliph of a global Christendom. Respect the boundary: tread not past moral teaching into politics, policy, and ideology. It is not for you to directly intervene to protect immigrants, the environment, or other secular, prudential, policy matters.
The line between moral teaching and policy is definite, if delicate and pervious. Strong, clear moral teaching from our Holy Father will empower the laity to do their task in all these areas. Policy is the competence of secular authorities and experts, not the hierarchy.
Direct intrusion into political issues by clergy is destructive on many levels. It polarizes the Church along political lines. It diminishes the genuine spiritual authority of the office. It alienates from the hierarchy those with a different pragmatic judgment on the issue.
Above all: do NOT allow yourself to be cast as the Anti-Trump. He is not your antagonist, whatever differences you have on a range of issues. Nor is Biden/Harris or anyone else your antagonist or ally. You are in different lanes. Setting you against Trump is like comparing Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan: nonsense!
Moral problems, whether treatment of refugees or the unborn, must be addressed by you in clear terms. But with a degree of detachment and abstraction, free of entanglement in the details of policy.
The moral disorders of Trump (or any other civil authority) must be restrained and countervailed by the complex network of lay actors: the courts, other agencies, conscientious members of his own circle and party, and of course opposing political parties.
Pope Francis erred here. He became associated with policies around boundaries, environment, and capital punishment. He offended the Ukraine in his attempt to draw Putin to peace; he insulted the Israelis in direct criticism of their Gaza invasion. Worst of all, he directly contradicted Trump while warmly welcoming Biden, Pelosi, and other liberals. And so, recently Cardinal Joseph Tobin set Trump and Francis as competing champions of two ideologies. Big mistake! The pope cannot be Anti-Trump or Anti-or-Pro-Anyone!
Apparently as Cardinal Prevost you have directly engaged, on social media, both Trump and Vance, on controversies about immigrants and the "order of love." Clearly your heart is with the poor. Is it the place of a Prince of the Church to get into the weeds, policy-wise? How much less helpful is it for the pope to do so?
This week, in your first words to the Cardinals, you exhorted them to "be small." Beautiful! In manner and presentation you are yourself "small": modest, humble, calm! The Church will grow small under your leadership: less organizations, less money, less power. And so, in the political sphere, it is good that you be small, true to your Petrine mission, inspiring lay actors to do the right thing.
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