Pope Francis

        I was disappointed and upset with Pope Francis last week when he said Donald Trump was not a Christian if he builds walls and not bridges.  The Pope is the head of the large and powerful Roman Catholic Church, but I do not think he has the right to sit in judgment and determine if another person is a Christian. 

        I think a little history is relevant.  The Vatican is a 110 acre walled city ruled as an absolute monarchy by the Pope.  The walls were originally built to keep out invading Muslims.  Doesn’t this sound similar to the proposed wall Trump is proposing for our national security?  

        We all have our own morality, and if we are Christian, we might think someone’s actions or opinion does not fit with ours.  That is our right, but I certainly do not think any church leader should publicize an opinion that someone is not a Christian.

        I believe a person can be a Christian and not show it in the same way another person does.  For example, it is not necessary to go to church every week to be a Christian.  We all have our own beliefs and probably several different levels of ethics depending on the situation. 

        I once gave a sermon when our church was without a minister.  My topic was that we had different levels of morality in church, at home, and at work.  That is certainly true for some politicians who feel telling lies is permitted in politics.

        Our Founding Fathers felt Christian morality was essential if this great republic was to survive.  They protected that right of religion in the First Amendment.  The Founding Fathers wanted religion in government, but they did not want the government dictating religion.  They would be very upset with the convoluted separation of church and state interpretation we currently have which restricts the very religious freedoms they were trying to protect.  

        The Pope justifies his statement by stating he is an advocate of the poor.  This is admirable, but he is mistaken in how to achieve the goal of helping the poor.  He criticizes capitalism and advocates socialism.  This is wrong.  We need to look at the facts. 

        The poor live better in our capitalist country than in any socialist country.  Charity from both the government and the private sector help the poor more world-wide than any socialist country.  Capitalism also gives people to opportunity to work their way out of poverty.

        The Pope advocates charity.  The people of this capitalist country show great charity at home and abroad.  That is part of capitalism.  A socialist country, by definition, advocates the government should collect taxes and determine who is worthy of receiving charity.  Socialist leaders do not feel the people are capable of making these decisions. 

        I have been talking about Christians, but this should include all religions that advocate peace, good moral conduct, respect the law, and freedom of religion.  This does not include any religion that advocates a world-wide caliphate by any means, including beheading Christians.  We have to protect ourselves from this very real danger.