This “nice Jewish girl” is overjoyed and needed this joy. My dear friend from high school, many years back, is Catholic; her parents like mine now of blessed memory, were so good to me. We were all devastated when Pope John XXIII died. Suzy (friend) and I were just ecstatic about Pope Leo. His words to the regime; his care about others; his fluency with languages; & Chicago’s South Side. Yes and Jesus whose values I hold. It made the day better.
Right on the mark again, John. Thank you for calling them out, even though they're too brainwashed to get it. And too diminished in their ability to think critically (or at all) to understand it.
This is as true as it is sad: “… there is simply nothing that triggers MAGA Christians quite like the teachings of Jesus.” This shows the failure of Christian clergy in some cases of preaching & teaching the Gospel for fear of being criticized or fired. The same failure is a glaringly obvious with Christian members of Congress, who are Republican.
They don’t hate Pope Leo XIV. They hate that he keeps dragging their Jesus cosplay into the light of actual Gospel teachings. It's hard to grift when the Pope’s reminding everyone that Christ said “love your neighbor” and didn’t mean your gun club neighbor who hates immigrants slightly less than you do.
These are folks who clutch rosaries in one hand while defunding public school lunches with the other. Jesus feeds the hungry; they post memes about how it’s socialism. Jesus heals the sick; they scream “deep state vax plot.” And now here comes Leo, the accidental heretic in their prosperity cult, quoting beatitudes instead of Bannon.
They don’t fear the Pope. They fear a Jesus they can’t weaponize.
And as always, when the Gospel shows up without a gun or a tax cut, they call it “woke.”
Let’s be honest—if Jesus showed up today healing trans kids and asking ICE to let the children go, half of Congress would crucify him on a live stream between ad reads for crypto and testosterone gummies.
So yes, John’s right. It’s not Leo they hate. It’s the inconvenient Messiah he dares to echo.
Beautifully written, John. A loving heart paired with a silver pen. I agree 100 percent. Thanks for your service, writing so excellently. I am not a Catholic or even a Christian, but those of us with some discernment recognize goodness where we find it.
This is so true. I might take issue with the new Pope's views on ordination of women, but his empathy, compassion, and heart for the marginalized are deeply reflective of Christ's message and way in this world. At this time in history, all of that is such a rare gift and I am deeply grateful tonight.
As always, John, thank you for the eloquent writing that cuts to the very core.
Leanne, I felt the same disappointment on the same issue with Pope Francis. I had real hopes, for a while. But I came to realize that one does not reach this particular office without being something of a company man, and there is little any pope can achieve without the College of Cardinals. That’s a harder ceiling to crack.
Yes, I hear you. And so, just like with politicians that are supposed to represent their constituents, I will take those who support most of the values that align with democracy and social justice, and the heart of Christ. Those values and behaviors that reflect decency and compassion. There is always a balance to be struck and I'll take empathy, compassion, and decency believing that respect and dignity will be shown to all.
As a long-lapsed Catholic turned atheist, not from trauma but from study, I can still say without blinking that the teachings of Christ, especially the radical compassion of the Sermon on the Mount, form the core of my moral compass. What Christ taught and what Christianity has become in MAGA hands are not only different gospels, they are violently at odds.
What the American right hates is not Pope Leo. It’s not even the Church, which they've tolerated as long as it stayed white, male, and obedient. What they hate is any embodiment of Christ that dares to live out love as action, not dogma. They loathe Jesus the liberator, the refuser of empire, the defender of the poor. That Jesus is dangerous. That Jesus is antithetical to every bloodless, bootlicking prosperity-gospel fantasy they’re pushing through Project 2025.
Pope Leo’s actual record may be more complicated, and yes, we should scrutinize his role in Church power structures, but the hate he’s getting from the American right isn’t because he’s too progressive for their tastes. It’s because even a whisper of Christ-like mercy is an existential threat to their Dominionist fever dream.
They don’t want a Pope. They want a king.
And Jesus never played that game.
Thank you for writing this. May we all keep swinging the whip in the temples of hypocrisy.
So I guess now we get to gloat in "owning" the maga-fake-Christians-fake-everything? Works for me right about now. I'm feeling a much needed hug from the great news of the new pope, and I'm not Catholic. More love, less hate is always welcome news.
We don’t have an anti-Trump Pope, we have an anti-Jesus Trump along with various hangers-on and henchmen. John is spot on here. For myself, I can’t wait until Trump’s first meeting with Leo - I suspect that the American Pope will have very little filtering going on in his chat with Mango Mussolini, and Trump won’t be able to blow it off as dismissable commentary from some furriner.
I wonder how people like Mike Johnson and Marjorie Taylor Green, who claim to be Christians, reconcile their actions with a pope like Leo. I suppose it’s as easy as reassuring themselves that Catholics aren’t “true” Christians. I actually heard an evangelical MAGA followers once say that anyone who follows anyone other than Jesus Christ is in nothing but a cult. They were referring to Mormons, but the same logic could be applied to Catholics, Buddhists, or Muslims.
I suppose there’s no sense in pointing out that they follow Trump with a religious fervor that is more cult like than any of the religions mentioned above. You can’t have a rational conversation with a zealot.
As a Catholic, I've been accused by Evangelicals of worshiping statues (not true), for thinking that the pope is above Jesus (not true), that we are not Christians (not true), and other idiocy. For me, I accept whatever philosophy other people follow. I think that if they have found a religion or way of life that helps them become better people, then that's great. If they follow the Golden Rule, it's fine by me.
Finding different reasons to push aside and exclude others is, in my opinion, a reflection of ignorance
Taking time to actually understand what other religions are about and respecting them for what they are is a lot more inconvenient and harder than a "stereotype label" they so easily attach to the others.
I agree, Roxana. We all are trying to find a belief that makes sense to us. Although many religions have different beliefs, nearly all of them tell us to be good to each other. For me, that's the important part.
When I was in my early teens my sister screamed at me that the Catholic church was the antichrist... she had no idea that I had been studying about the church and had already decided that when I was grown I would convert, and was horribly offended when I stood up to her and told her she knew nothing about the Catholic church. My dad had figured it out, but in his usually way as peacekeeper said nothing and let my ndefiance stand.
A friend shared this article. They know the researcher cited in the article. It says the family moved to Chicago from New Orleans in 1912 to pass for white.
Thank you for this info. The MAGA racists are likely to be furious about the Creole ancestry. As for me, the pope being of that ancestry says something laudable for Creoles. Blessings. Hurrah.
Indeed! Although they probably don’t even know what that means (they probably think it is about food, not about mixed race folk who were free people in colonial Louisiana . . .)
Thank you. I wanted to share this info on Facebook, but the article is on X,
a forum I am "suspended" from. I have no idea why, and mostly I don't care, knowing X for what it is. Not a forum I visit often. Someone else will get it out to the public. Truth will out!
I have spread it widely on Twitter, Threads, FB, and IG. All with a bit of only good response. In this specific case, the goodness has been acknowledged most on Twitter.
Although the past 12 hours on BlueSky have been magical. I added a meme too. Here is my BS account:
I was raised "Christian", but we didn't go to church often; therefore, I never subscribed to one denomination over another. I had a few Catholic friends, but never went to Mass with them. Catholicism was a mystery to me. I grew up in a small town that was eventually taken over by wealthy people from northern states looking to retire comfortably. (I live in Virginia, about an hour from Virginia Beach.) Eventually, a very fancy Catholic church went up in a prominent area of our little city, and there were some jokes around town and in school about the Catholics and their wealth.
I never paid it much mind. I just assumed Catholicism was very complicated. Then, as a brand-new nurse at the age of thirty-two, I went to work for a Catholic hospital about forty-five minutes from home. It was a small community hospital, but it was known for fabulous doctors and even more fabulous orthopedic surgeries.
I began running into nuns who came in to pray for and volunteer their time to cheer up our sickest patients and the families who stayed at their sides. I was intimidated at first. I imagined they would be difficult to talk to. They weren't. These women were wonderful, full of strength and faith. The nuns sometimes came onto the hospital units to bless the nurses' hands. I could feel the power of their faith as they prayed over my hands. Their faith and grace empowered me. Although I wasn't Catholic, I was so grateful for that simple act of kindness. I would finish my shift feeling like a spiritual force I was rarely aware of had guided me.
I stayed at that little hospital for about five years before moving on. I will never forget the sisters' kindness and genuine intentions to do good for others. I hope we see that same spirit in the new Pope.
Like many other religions, Christianity can be twisted and exclusive. Power is not found through denomination or religious affiliation, but through faith and our relationship with our Higher Power. I hope the critics and nay-sayers will remember that. Their reactions reflect where their hearts and truth really lie. And right now, some of that is looking downright ugly.
I appreciate the fact that you mention other faiths and beliefs, Agnostics,Jews, Muslims, Atheists, Buddhists, Wiccans, Hindus, or Unitarians, as those who would probably feel affinity with Christ's teachings. I might also add the many Native Americans' beliefs would also feel that same affinity from what I have read about them, and also experienced first-hand. Is "CHINO" appropriate to describe those MAGAs?
This “nice Jewish girl” is overjoyed and needed this joy. My dear friend from high school, many years back, is Catholic; her parents like mine now of blessed memory, were so good to me. We were all devastated when Pope John XXIII died. Suzy (friend) and I were just ecstatic about Pope Leo. His words to the regime; his care about others; his fluency with languages; & Chicago’s South Side. Yes and Jesus whose values I hold. It made the day better.
Right on the mark again, John. Thank you for calling them out, even though they're too brainwashed to get it. And too diminished in their ability to think critically (or at all) to understand it.
This is as true as it is sad: “… there is simply nothing that triggers MAGA Christians quite like the teachings of Jesus.” This shows the failure of Christian clergy in some cases of preaching & teaching the Gospel for fear of being criticized or fired. The same failure is a glaringly obvious with Christian members of Congress, who are Republican.
That’s why I like Kris Kristofferson song, Jesus was a Capricorn. “I reckon they’d just nail him up if he came down again.”
They don’t hate Pope Leo XIV. They hate that he keeps dragging their Jesus cosplay into the light of actual Gospel teachings. It's hard to grift when the Pope’s reminding everyone that Christ said “love your neighbor” and didn’t mean your gun club neighbor who hates immigrants slightly less than you do.
These are folks who clutch rosaries in one hand while defunding public school lunches with the other. Jesus feeds the hungry; they post memes about how it’s socialism. Jesus heals the sick; they scream “deep state vax plot.” And now here comes Leo, the accidental heretic in their prosperity cult, quoting beatitudes instead of Bannon.
They don’t fear the Pope. They fear a Jesus they can’t weaponize.
And as always, when the Gospel shows up without a gun or a tax cut, they call it “woke.”
Let’s be honest—if Jesus showed up today healing trans kids and asking ICE to let the children go, half of Congress would crucify him on a live stream between ad reads for crypto and testosterone gummies.
So yes, John’s right. It’s not Leo they hate. It’s the inconvenient Messiah he dares to echo.
—Virgin Monk Boy
They may buy everything in this world however God has always the last word and, through his Holy Ghost had Pope Leo chosen by the Coclave !
Mike drop 🎤
Beautifully written, John. A loving heart paired with a silver pen. I agree 100 percent. Thanks for your service, writing so excellently. I am not a Catholic or even a Christian, but those of us with some discernment recognize goodness where we find it.
The "-ians" (for there is no Christ in their world) are outraged. I am grateful that a Pope was chosen who strives to bring love.
I like that...the "-ians". It suits them.
This is so true. I might take issue with the new Pope's views on ordination of women, but his empathy, compassion, and heart for the marginalized are deeply reflective of Christ's message and way in this world. At this time in history, all of that is such a rare gift and I am deeply grateful tonight.
As always, John, thank you for the eloquent writing that cuts to the very core.
Leanne, I felt the same disappointment on the same issue with Pope Francis. I had real hopes, for a while. But I came to realize that one does not reach this particular office without being something of a company man, and there is little any pope can achieve without the College of Cardinals. That’s a harder ceiling to crack.
Yes, I hear you. And so, just like with politicians that are supposed to represent their constituents, I will take those who support most of the values that align with democracy and social justice, and the heart of Christ. Those values and behaviors that reflect decency and compassion. There is always a balance to be struck and I'll take empathy, compassion, and decency believing that respect and dignity will be shown to all.
Amen.
John, this is fire. And it’s dead-on.
As a long-lapsed Catholic turned atheist, not from trauma but from study, I can still say without blinking that the teachings of Christ, especially the radical compassion of the Sermon on the Mount, form the core of my moral compass. What Christ taught and what Christianity has become in MAGA hands are not only different gospels, they are violently at odds.
What the American right hates is not Pope Leo. It’s not even the Church, which they've tolerated as long as it stayed white, male, and obedient. What they hate is any embodiment of Christ that dares to live out love as action, not dogma. They loathe Jesus the liberator, the refuser of empire, the defender of the poor. That Jesus is dangerous. That Jesus is antithetical to every bloodless, bootlicking prosperity-gospel fantasy they’re pushing through Project 2025.
Pope Leo’s actual record may be more complicated, and yes, we should scrutinize his role in Church power structures, but the hate he’s getting from the American right isn’t because he’s too progressive for their tastes. It’s because even a whisper of Christ-like mercy is an existential threat to their Dominionist fever dream.
They don’t want a Pope. They want a king.
And Jesus never played that game.
Thank you for writing this. May we all keep swinging the whip in the temples of hypocrisy.
So I guess now we get to gloat in "owning" the maga-fake-Christians-fake-everything? Works for me right about now. I'm feeling a much needed hug from the great news of the new pope, and I'm not Catholic. More love, less hate is always welcome news.
We don’t have an anti-Trump Pope, we have an anti-Jesus Trump along with various hangers-on and henchmen. John is spot on here. For myself, I can’t wait until Trump’s first meeting with Leo - I suspect that the American Pope will have very little filtering going on in his chat with Mango Mussolini, and Trump won’t be able to blow it off as dismissable commentary from some furriner.
That he won’t be able to doesn’t mean he won’t try. He is nothing if not predictable.
That last sentence!! Indeed!!
MAGA CHRISTIAN is an oxymoron!
I wonder how people like Mike Johnson and Marjorie Taylor Green, who claim to be Christians, reconcile their actions with a pope like Leo. I suppose it’s as easy as reassuring themselves that Catholics aren’t “true” Christians. I actually heard an evangelical MAGA followers once say that anyone who follows anyone other than Jesus Christ is in nothing but a cult. They were referring to Mormons, but the same logic could be applied to Catholics, Buddhists, or Muslims.
I suppose there’s no sense in pointing out that they follow Trump with a religious fervor that is more cult like than any of the religions mentioned above. You can’t have a rational conversation with a zealot.
As a Catholic, I've been accused by Evangelicals of worshiping statues (not true), for thinking that the pope is above Jesus (not true), that we are not Christians (not true), and other idiocy. For me, I accept whatever philosophy other people follow. I think that if they have found a religion or way of life that helps them become better people, then that's great. If they follow the Golden Rule, it's fine by me.
Finding different reasons to push aside and exclude others is, in my opinion, a reflection of ignorance
Taking time to actually understand what other religions are about and respecting them for what they are is a lot more inconvenient and harder than a "stereotype label" they so easily attach to the others.
I agree, Roxana. We all are trying to find a belief that makes sense to us. Although many religions have different beliefs, nearly all of them tell us to be good to each other. For me, that's the important part.
When I was in my early teens my sister screamed at me that the Catholic church was the antichrist... she had no idea that I had been studying about the church and had already decided that when I was grown I would convert, and was horribly offended when I stood up to her and told her she knew nothing about the Catholic church. My dad had figured it out, but in his usually way as peacekeeper said nothing and let my ndefiance stand.
I left out the fact my sister was ulltra right Pentacostal ( but I imagine you figured that out)
I call them maganians and elonians.
And his background is even more fascinating:
A friend shared this article. They know the researcher cited in the article. It says the family moved to Chicago from New Orleans in 1912 to pass for white.
https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/nation-world/pope-leo-xiv-grandparents-were-7th-ward-creoles-new-orleans/289-d1c1cdb0-9768-4ad8-bc8c-53dc2d55f5fb
Thank you for this info. The MAGA racists are likely to be furious about the Creole ancestry. As for me, the pope being of that ancestry says something laudable for Creoles. Blessings. Hurrah.
All the above.
Indeed! Although they probably don’t even know what that means (they probably think it is about food, not about mixed race folk who were free people in colonial Louisiana . . .)
Even better article: https://www.blackcatholicmessenger.org/pope-leo-xiv-ancestry/
Thank you. I wanted to share this info on Facebook, but the article is on X,
a forum I am "suspended" from. I have no idea why, and mostly I don't care, knowing X for what it is. Not a forum I visit often. Someone else will get it out to the public. Truth will out!
I have spread it widely on Twitter, Threads, FB, and IG. All with a bit of only good response. In this specific case, the goodness has been acknowledged most on Twitter.
Although the past 12 hours on BlueSky have been magical. I added a meme too. Here is my BS account:
https://bsky.app/profile/ncpots.bsky.social
I was raised "Christian", but we didn't go to church often; therefore, I never subscribed to one denomination over another. I had a few Catholic friends, but never went to Mass with them. Catholicism was a mystery to me. I grew up in a small town that was eventually taken over by wealthy people from northern states looking to retire comfortably. (I live in Virginia, about an hour from Virginia Beach.) Eventually, a very fancy Catholic church went up in a prominent area of our little city, and there were some jokes around town and in school about the Catholics and their wealth.
I never paid it much mind. I just assumed Catholicism was very complicated. Then, as a brand-new nurse at the age of thirty-two, I went to work for a Catholic hospital about forty-five minutes from home. It was a small community hospital, but it was known for fabulous doctors and even more fabulous orthopedic surgeries.
I began running into nuns who came in to pray for and volunteer their time to cheer up our sickest patients and the families who stayed at their sides. I was intimidated at first. I imagined they would be difficult to talk to. They weren't. These women were wonderful, full of strength and faith. The nuns sometimes came onto the hospital units to bless the nurses' hands. I could feel the power of their faith as they prayed over my hands. Their faith and grace empowered me. Although I wasn't Catholic, I was so grateful for that simple act of kindness. I would finish my shift feeling like a spiritual force I was rarely aware of had guided me.
I stayed at that little hospital for about five years before moving on. I will never forget the sisters' kindness and genuine intentions to do good for others. I hope we see that same spirit in the new Pope.
Like many other religions, Christianity can be twisted and exclusive. Power is not found through denomination or religious affiliation, but through faith and our relationship with our Higher Power. I hope the critics and nay-sayers will remember that. Their reactions reflect where their hearts and truth really lie. And right now, some of that is looking downright ugly.
I appreciate the fact that you mention other faiths and beliefs, Agnostics,Jews, Muslims, Atheists, Buddhists, Wiccans, Hindus, or Unitarians, as those who would probably feel affinity with Christ's teachings. I might also add the many Native Americans' beliefs would also feel that same affinity from what I have read about them, and also experienced first-hand. Is "CHINO" appropriate to describe those MAGAs?