There’s no distinction between faith and politics on the right any more

One of the most confounding issues facing rational people now is how religion and faith have become so closely intertwined. The problem has been most pronounced when it comes to conservative evangelicals, who somehow managed to overlook all of Donald Trump’s sins and drove anyone from their ranks who did not worship at Trump’s altar.

Now we’re seeing the same thing playing out in the Roman Catholic Church. The big difference is that, unlike the evangelical movement, Catholics acknowledge the supremacy of a single person, the Pope. But if you ask conservative American Catholics if the Pope is Catholic, they will resoundingly tell you no. The reason, in large part, is because Pope Francis isn’t a fan of Donald Trump.

Related:

Pope invited trans women over for a pasta & meatballs dinner

A former sex worker sat next to the Pontiff making small talk as they had tiramisu for dessert.

The problem has been simmering for a long time but came to a head this fall when Francis finally reached the end of his patience with two of the loudest MAGA voices in the American hierarchy: Joseph Strickland, the bishop of Tyler, Texas, and Cardinal Raymond Burke.

Dive deeper every day

Join our newsletter for thought-provoking commentary that goes beyond the surface of LGBTQ+ issues

Daily

Weekly

Good News

Although Strickland was head of a relatively tiny diocese, he has loomed large in the right-wing media sphere as Pope Francis’ antagonist. He embraced the role with gusto, appearing on YouTube, having a Twitter account with 175,000 followers, and pulling publicity stunts like going to Dodger Stadium to protest the baseball team honoring the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

Indeed, Strickland was fixated on anything LGBTQ+. He has blasted Francis for having kind words to say about LGBTQ+ people, suggesting that the Pope is intentionally undermining the Church. Strickland endorsed videos that described Francis as a “diabolically disordered clown.” Strickland kept upping the rhetoric. At a conference sponsored by the right-wing LifeSite News, Strickland read a letter from an unnamed friend who called Francis a “usurper.” If Francis didn’t like his criticism, Strickland said, the Pope could fire him.

Which is exactly what he did.

Now Strickland is comparing himself to whatever martyr comes to mind. The problem is that martyrs don’t earn the title by disagreeing with the Supreme Pontiff.

Burke was just as bad, with a twist. He all but endorsed Trump, exulting how Trump would “defend Christian values” as president. Meanwhile, Burke downplayed the Church’s sexual abuse crisis, blaming it on the “homosexual agenda.” He compared gay people to murderers and couldn’t stand Francis’ modest overtures toward the LGBTQ+ community.

“It’s unfortunately very clear that the invocation of the Holy Spirit on the part of some has as its aim to push forward an agenda that is more political and human than ecclesiastical and divine,” Burke said. That’s pretty rich for someone who used to pal around with Trump advisor Steve Bannon.

Through all this, Burke has been living in a 5,000-square-foot apartment in the Vatican, rent-free. In his book In the Closet in the Vatican, Frédéric Martel gives a detailed description of the apartment that falls into the “Is he saying what I think he’s saying?” category. Suffice it to say, it is resplendent, from the three-sided mirror where Burke, who has a fondness for the finest ecclesiastical garb, can admire himself to “the strange wet room worthy of a luxury spa resort.” In short, it’s hardly the monastic cell you’d expect of someone who took a vow of poverty (among others). By contrast, Francis lives in very modest quarters.

Strickland and Burke frame their disagreements with Francis as doctrinal, but they are actually as much political. Both prelates saw their roles as political as much as pastoral. Strickland was tweeting about QAnon, and Burke was telling Catholics not to vote for President Joe Biden.

Neither man had any problem with Trump. They didn’t criticize him, even though there was plenty to criticize. The separation of families at the border was “cruelty of the highest form,” in the Pope’s words. Yet Strickland and Burke spent their time attacking the Pope over LGBTQ+ issues.

If anything, they joined the MAGA flock and sanctified it. There was virtually no distinction between politics and religion for them.

Or for many of Trump’s followers. Trumpism is as much an article of faith as basic doctrines. In Strickland’s and Burke’s cases, more so. The oath of loyalty they swore to the papacy comes second to the oath they swore to a political movement. To justify themselves, they say that they are driven by religion. But in this case, their religion is politics.