Although I see many flaws with Trump's strategy, I truly think that the Pope has no right to publicly comment on American politics, nor does he have the right to question one's Christianity. Everyone is allowed to have an opinion, and everyone has a right to voice their opinion -- but not everyone is the Pope. One of the reasons we formed this nation is so that our political system would be free of religious bias or influence, and that's why I think the Pope commenting on Trump is inappropriate. Further, in the Christian religion, it is believed that only God has the right to judge anyone's personal religious strength. Clearly, the Pope is doing exactly that, and he is using his platform to unfairly distort a candidate's perception.
The pope is not an American, and should not allowed to make comments on what Americans should do. Obviously it's better to build bridges between cultures than walls, but there is clearly a major illegal immigration problem in this nation, and I'm not sure if the Pope is suggesting that we make illegal immigration easier for people trying to enter America unlawfully. Walls serve a practical and real purpose, not just to separate and alienate.
Obviously no disrespect to the holy Pope, since he is a great man and is catalyzing a lot of progress for this world and the Christian community, but I think he's overstepping his bounds here by making such inappropriate comments on American politics, as well as Donald Trump's religious beliefs. He is not allowed to judge based upon the laws of his religion, and he doesn't know Trump personally so he can't make that statement.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/18/politics/pope-francis-trump-christian-wall/
Do you guys think the Pope is overstepping his bounds here, with his comments on American politics and Trump's religion? Is Trump a bad guy for wanting to stymie illegal immigration? If so, what do you think needs to be done about illegal immigration?
8 comments:
I think the Pope's comments were extremely legitimate. While many people think he overstepped boundaries, I firmly believe he had a right to say what he did. Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis has been firm in that Christians should get involved in politics. The Pope is allowed to say his opinion and, while I think you're right in saying that Pope Francis doesn't know Trump personally, but I think this is a bigger issue. He is not saying "I hate Trump" and wearing a Hillary sticker. He's saying his beliefs. No one knows the bible like a Pope. Also, this is supposed to send a message to those who are using Trump's candidacy as an excuse for racism and intolerance. The Church has always been about love thy neighbor and no one exemplifies that more than the Pope. His comments were not made to "bash" Trump. It was made to send a message to his some followers so they would look at themselves and be more critical.
Also, this quote is taken way out of context. The full quote was ""As far as what you said about whether I would advise to vote or not to vote, I am not going to get involved in that. I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that."
So yes, The Pope said that Trump wasn't a Christian, but I think he really meant more his actions. Essentially, I think these comments were appropriate. He didn't endorse or denounce a person -- simply an act.
I think that the Pope is merely stating what he believes to be the way of Christianity and the teachings of Catholicism to love thy neighbor as thyself and he feels that the exclusionary actions, or wants, of Trump do not follow the teachings of God’s love. While his comments may appear out of place and a bit unforeseen, he has the same right to comment on the idea of the wall as much as any of us do.
I don’t think that Trump is a bad guy for wanting to block immigrants from entering the country illegally. I think his idea is not to keep them out but to preserve the orderly fashion of bringing them into the country legally. Which would not make him a bad person, but rather just a human being with an idea for improvement of one nation rather than humanity.
I think that the Pope’s comments aren't out of line because he has a point in saying that with these ideas, Trump isn’t upholding the values or teachings of the Church. The Pope, while being the highest official of the Catholic Church on Earth is still no God and doesn’t bear the right to judge. However, I feel that he was not judgmental and only meant to push for a little more installation of love instead of hate in the world and especially in the United States because we are seen as leaders of the free world.
I agree with Olivia that the Pope's comments are legitimate. The Pope is considered an international leader, and although he is not politically elected or an American, he still has major influence on the world stage and his opinions influence other world leaders perceptions of America. US presidents and political leaders have certainly commented on other nations because they disagree with the tactics or methods of policy. Furthermore, although there is a separation of Church and State the United States, and many of its political candidates, are still deeply religious and run on campaigns that emphasize religious values such as the traditional family unit or pro life laws. As for Trump being a bad person, I think that the Pope was commenting on the tactics used by Trump rather than his actual desire to decrease illegal immigration. Illegal immigration is an increasing problem in the United States and a major topic of this election. Many of the candidates are approaching it in different ways, some saying a path to legalization is best and others wanting to secure the border. Trump is wrong in his approach because a wall will increase tensions between the US and Mexico. Yes, immigration needs to be controlled, but a wall may not prove effective or costly. Furthermore, Trump's comments against immigrants and Mexicans in particular have been incredibly offensive. Illegal immigration is a complicated issue that is multi faceted. I believe there should be a path to immigration and those born here to immigrant parents should be legal citizens. I do see a need for tightened border security and communication with Mexico to try and regulate the issue.
I think that the Pope was valid in what he said about Trump. While it should be emphasized to keep religion and politics separate in my opinion, that does not mean that the Pope is not allowed to comment about certain people involved in politics. Pope Francis is allowed to have an opinion on a certain person and he is allowed to voice that opinion if it is negative. He is saying that Trump is not a good candidate if he wants to build walls instead of bridges, which is not a way to extend for unified peace. The Pope wants to accept all people and shutting certain ones out doesn't help.
I think that illegal immigration is a problem in the US that should be dealt with, that's true. Trump, however, is taking a very backwards approach to try to solve it, and that's why the Pope is speaking against him. There are better ways than forcing another country to block themselves from you. I feel Mexico should be held somewhat responsible for the problem, but the country has been known to be slightly corrupt. There are many different ways to go about stopping illegal immigration, and Trump's idea is certainly not one of the better ones.
Although I don't believe the Pope is entirely wrong, I do agree with Stephen that he overstepped his boundaries by claiming that Trump is not a Christian. It would be one thing for an American civilian to argue that Trump does not act very Christian, but the Pope has established himself as not only a religious figure, but also a political figure. Because of this, he has to be careful in making statements like these, because this could be viewed as excommunicating Trump from the Christian religion. This seems to be a bit uncalled for, especially considering Trump has not even taken action on anything yet. The Pope is allowed to voice his opinion, but calling Trump non-Christian is a bit much since Trump is simply addressing a serious issue in America.
Illegal immigration is definitely something America should be concerned about, and Trump's idea would not restrict all immigrants from coming here. Building a wall would serve the purpose of keeping illegal immigrants from coming in our country, not separating cultures. It is not unreasonable to control the inflow of immigrants into our nation, especially with so many of them living here illegally.
The Pope, as part of his office, is considered to be god's spokesman. Being the catholic religious authority, he has every right to speak on his opinions. People in positions of power voice their political opinions everyday, and its not as though religion has no place in people's opinions on policy. Consider Pro-lifers for instance. Many Pro-lifers take their political agenda against abortion from their interpretation of the Bible. Americans who support the freedom of speech must support the freedom of individuals, no matter their influence, speaking frankly about their interpretation of their faith. Additionally, the building of a wall doesn't solve the illegal immigration problem. We already have huge border fences spanning miles. If someone wanted to scale a wall, they certainly could. Overall, I don't see Blogger Brian's point. Religious figures, as well as political figures, have as much right to freedom of speech as the common man. How else would Trump insult women and people of color?
I agree with Olivia and Gwen in saying that the Pope has the right to make these comments. He is a very impactful world leader, and his opinion should be heard the same way as any other. Also, his opinions are just that: opinions. Just because the Pope makes a comment about Trump does not mean that everyone in the world is going to agree with what he says. People are free to accept or reject the opinions of others, the same way that they can with the Pope's opinions.
I do not agree with Trump's opinions about illegal immigration, so I do agree with what the Pope is implying in his comment. I think the US should make immigration easier rather than stricter. Building bridges between cultures is much more important than building walls, and the US should welcome others to our country. The Pope's comments about this topic make a lot of sense coming from a Christian point of view. As Annie said, his statement about immigration very much matches up to the Christian ethic to love thy neighbor. The Pope simply wanted to get across a message about how he thinks America should function and the ideals it should embody. People can accept or reject his comments as much as they would like, as they are simply his opinion.
I do not believe the Pope overstepped his boundaries because as a symbol of honor and respect he has been a man who expresses raw wisdom more times than not. I believe that despite your religion, even if you are an atheist, Donald Trump's motives are more than often fueled by bigotry, racism and religious discrimination. I believe that for him to express himself as a "Christian" man is highly inaccurate. For a man who is so outspoken against certain ethnicities or social groups, it is highly unlikely that he follows the virtues of Christianity. Annie mentioned that Christians value the virtue of "love thy neighbor". Now as we all know, Trump has been very clear he wishes to build a wall between Mexico and the United States. Does this sound like it aligns with Christian values that he says he holds true? I do not believe so. Some have accused the Pope of being completely inappropriate in commenting on Trump's faith, however he is supposed to be a symbol to Christianity and I think he is entitled to comment on whether or not he believes someone is withholding the values of the religion. In regards to all of the attention this has gotten it may impede on Trump’s success. Many of his voters collate from the south, known for their conservative values, many of whom are Christian. Because of this, these voters may side one way or the other. But if these conservative southern voters feel that the Pope is in fact correct in calling out Donald on his “unchristian” views, he may indeed lose several voters. However those who support Trump are already quite special individuals, and who knows, perhaps nothing will get in the way of their support for Trump.
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