In the war of words between Pope Leo and President Donald Trump last week, the two U.S.-born world leaders seemed to agree on only one thing: that the pope is not a politician. In the rambling Truth Social post that started the ruckus, Trump accused Leo of supporting crime, a nuclear Iran, and Venezuelan drug dealers, while also taking credit for the pope’s election and getting in a dig that he prefers Leo’s MAGA brother. But he concluded the rant by advising Leo to “get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.”
The next day, Pope Leo essentially agreed with that last phrase, saying in an interview aboard the papal plane to Africa, “I am not a politician, and I do not want to enter into a debate with [Trump].” He hinted at one of the dangers of politicizing religion, saying the Gospel has been “abused” by some politicians.
Many Catholics prefer political neutrality from their pastors. “What do you say to people in the pews who say, ‘I don’t want to hear politics from my priest’?” host Norah O’Donnell asked the three active U.S. cardinals in a 60 Minutes interview that likely prompted Trump’s late-night hate-posting against the pope. Chicago cardinal Blase Cupich’s answer: “Fine. I only want to preach the Gospel.” Earlier in the interview Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark clarified that the pope is “pastor of the world,” not a pundit.
We’ve seen what happens when U.S. Church leaders become partisan; some have so cozied up to the GOP in the last few decades that “Catholic” started to become synonymous with “Republican.” Such political homogeneity hurts the Church’s credibility, not to mention the damage it does to democracy. So of course the pope, and by extension the Church, should not align itself with or against any political party or get too close with governmental officials.
But not be political? Politics involves our public life, the way we conduct communal affairs, the solutions to societal problems, and the values we bring to bear on those decisions, whether at the local, state, national, or international level. What necessities are so crucial that we must guarantee that all have access to them? How do we care for the poor, the orphaned, the migrant? How do we restore justice when someone in the community has been wronged? The Church has much to contribute to these conversations, and citizens can’t leave their faith-based values behind when they participate in civic life.
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Church leaders who say they are only preaching the Gospel and not “getting political” seem to forget that the Gospel has plenty to say about political issues; see Matthew 25 and the corporal works of mercy. And our Catholic social tradition gets pretty specific about the values that should undergird social policy: human dignity, the rights of workers, the common good, care for the earth. It’s why the U.S. bishops’ conference has a lobbying arm through its Office of Government Relations, and states have Catholic conferences to serve as the public-policy voice on education, social services, and life issues. The national conference, state conferences, and individual bishops regularly write and speak out on political issues.
Of course, the U.S. Church has been extremely political in its defense of unborn life and opposition to legalized abortion. It has lobbied elected officials, filed lawsuits and legal briefs, and organized voter guides and other materials to convince Catholics to use their vote to influence what the U.S bishops have termed the “preeminent” issue. Dioceses, schools, and other Catholic organizations plan annual trips to the nation’s capital in January to attend a political demonstration, hear politicians and other speakers, and meet with representatives on the Hill to influence policy on the issue of abortion.
But when Pope Leo suggested that Americans contact their political leaders and representatives to oppose unjust attacks on civilian infrastructure in the war against Iran and to instead work for peace, some conservatives cried foul and criticized him for crossing the line into politics. I doubt those folks were complaining when the Church was advocating for issues they or their political party supported. It’s pretty clear that it’s Leo’s opposition to the war—not the crossing of religion into politics—that has these folks upset. Many of them regularly use religion to support their political views; some are even trying to roll back the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits churches from partisan activity such as endorsing candidates.
That type of partisanship on the part of some religious folks—modeled in the extreme by Evangelicals but also by some conservative Catholics—is precisely what concerns some bishops and leads them to be cautious about being “too political.” But applying this litmus test to the Church only when it speaks up for “liberal” or “Democratic” issues reveals the partisanship they say they are trying to prevent.
Church leaders often note that the Catholic Church does not fit neatly into either political party, since our teaching sides with the GOP on some issues, the Democrats on others. Yet for decades, the emphasis has been on one issue and one party. Now, we’re seeing a shift. Although the U.S. bishops are hardly unified, they have moved toward a more consistent voice opposing some Trump administration policies—beginning with their “special message” on immigration at their November meeting and evident in the quick responses to Trump’s and Vance’s attacks on Leo last week. A wide range of prelates—not just those considered progressive or moderate—supported Leo and condemned Trump for posting an image of himself as Jesus. The Committee on Doctrine pushed back on Vance’s finger-wagging about the pope needing to “be careful” when talking about theological matters. And claims that the Iran war does not meet just-war criteria have come from the head of the Military Archdiocese, Bishop Timothy Broglio, hardly a liberal.
The answer isn’t for Church leaders to embrace the Democratic Party in ways that some have previously done with the Republicans. Nor should religion only be a personal, “me and Jesus” matter. The Church is gaining credibility for speaking up for Gospel values in the public square, even when it means criticizing a president that nearly 60 percent of Catholic voters chose. That’s the kind of political engagement we need.
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