Writer Xavier Barrios argues Trump’s policies ignore Catholic teachings.
Writer Xavier Barrios argues Trump’s policies ignore Catholic teachings.
A coward should not stand behind the pulpit.
Bishop Mariann E. Budde is no coward. She stood before the newly inaugurated President Donald Trump Jan. 21 and pleaded for mercy on those who are scared and worried for how he plans to use his power.
The bishop stood at the precipice of theology and politics, willing to make a statement on behalf of her beliefs in front of Trump, who, within his first few days in office, revoked diversity, equity and inclusion programs and began mass deportations, in the process impeding the sanctity of spaces like churches.
“I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” Budde said. “There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families — some who fear for their lives.”
Trump’s second term in office is a negative reflection on the Word of the Lord by claiming to be Christian. His presidency has come wrought with malice, hatred and exclusion — and it’s just begun. Budde’s sermon did the opposite, showcasing the true teachings of God, including embracing strangers and celebrating differences.
In the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord says those worthy of inheriting the Kingdom of God will have fed Him when hungry, clothed Him when naked, visited Him in prison and invited Him in as a stranger. When asked how to know it’s the Lord, he responds with a profound answer.
“And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it for Me,’” Matthew 25:40 reads.
Budde was courageous, not only behind the Canterbury Pulpit, but behind the Gospel. Her voice cascaded across the National Washington Cathedral — a central part of American political history notably used for post-war services and presidential funerals. It was the last place Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a sermon.
Bishop Budde has continued the legacy of the pulpit.
The president responded to the bishop’s sermon by calling her a “Radical Left hard line Trump hater” in a post on TruthSocial, the social media platform he owns. In the same post, he demanded an apology from the church and the bishop.
The president’s need for an apology is representative of his failure to recognize the Christian teachings he pretends to understand. Jesus’ teachings are simple to comprehend when not backed by the malice of far-right Christianity. For Budde to apologize would sever her from the Word of God in favor of an idolized president.
Due to the president’s ties with right-wing Christian groups, American Christianity finds itself split by different types of believers — those who follow the Lord and those who idolize a man. As one of the Ten Commandments states, “There shall not be other gods before Me” — and it seems those who align themselves with the president are forgetting it.
In the coming years, those who follow the Word of the Lord must decide to truly embrace its teachings or continue to bend and distort them to meet President Trump’s whims.
In her sermon, Budde left the nation with a final guiding light.
“Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger for we were all once strangers in this land,” she said.
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