House Speaker Mike Johnson, a part-time theologian, while eyeing the Pope like he's reading the fine print on a vending machine, joined in with his party to bash Pope Leo. This should go down well, given that there are approximately 53 to 62 million Catholics in the United States and the midterms are around the corner. Keep it up, guys.
And since Mike is an alleged deeply religious man, it's bizarre to hear him tell the Pontiff how to Pope during a press conference.
"Listen, I'm not one to criticize clerics and religious leaders," he said. "We defend free speech. We certainly defend the right, the free access of religion, and a pontiff or any religious leader can say anything they want. But obviously, if you wade into political waters, I think you should expect some political response."
"And I think the Pope's received some of that," he continued. "I was taken a little bit aback, just honestly, frankly, by something that was said. I think he said several days back that something about those who engage in war, that Jesus doesn't hear their prayers or something. It is a very well-settled matter of Christian theology."
"There's something called the Just War Doctrine," he said. "There's a time to every purpose under heaven. I think what the president's comments, what the vice president's comments reflect is their understanding deep in the SCIF and the classified briefings of the stakes that are so high, and the situation that we're facing, and the fact that you had the nation that was the largest sponsor of terrorism now having had that ability taken away from them."
"That means potentially millions of innocent people will be able to keep their lives and not be killed by terrorists," he insisted. "That's a good thing. That's what's come out of this. So I don't want to engage in a theological debate with the Pope. I certainly respect the Pope. I would just say that these are matters that people of good faith and good sense can debate and think through."
Trump’s little Johnson is out here sounding like a youth pastor who just discovered Wikipedia’s page on Aquinas and thinks he’s schooling the Vatican. The Pope’s been dropping vague “war bad, pray harder” lines for some time while countries actually have to make impossible decisions. And your response is basically “Well, actually, there’s this thing called Just War theory that the Church invented centuries ago… maybe read the room, Holy Father?”
Bless your heart, Mike. At least you remembered the doctrine exists. Or, he possibly Googled it to explain why it's OK to annihilate an "entire civilization," and still go to heaven. Sure thing, buddy.
This is what rattled Republicans, including Trump, who thinks he's Jesus Christ.
“Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life,” he said during a special evening prayer vigil for peace.
“Those who pray are aware of their own limitations; they do not kill or threaten with death,” he said. “Instead, death enslaves those who have turned their backs on the living God, turning themselves and their own power into a mute, blind, and deaf idol, to which they sacrifice every value, demanding that the whole world bend its knee.”
Yeah, so, if Trump and MAGA Mike take issue with those words, that sounds like a YOU problem, guys.
