“I’m not afraid.”
With these three words on Sunday morning, Pope Leo XIV condemned President Trump and everything he has done to the world as forcefully as anyone has ever done.
Three words that make fun of Trump being a bully.
Three words that undermine Trump’s self-promoted aura of invincibility.
Three words to inspire all good people to fight against Trump – because if a mild-mannered man of God like Leo is not afraid, no one should be.
Pope Leo’s words thrilled me as an American, especially as a Catholic. His calm, confident witness since becoming pontiff in May has already ignited a spiritual light in me to stay close to the faith in which I grew up.
Trump’s actions during his second term – war, deportations, dirty rhetoric and above all self-love – are like fuel to that fire. They stand against everything I was ever taught was good and holy.
At a time when so many people are insisting that we have to bow down to Trump to defeat him, hearing Leo’s simple criticism of the President is like receiving a rite of passage that I never imagined I needed.
Leo said this hours after Trump criticized him on social media. calling him “Weak on crime, and terrible at foreign policy” – all because of the Pope’s constant criticism of wars and this country’s despicable treatment of undocumented immigrants, while never naming anyone.
So far.
“I’m not afraid to speak out loudly about the Trump administration or about the message of the Gospel that the church works for,” he told reporters during a visit to Algeria to launch a 10-day African mission. He later reiterated the message, saying: “I have no fear.”
In response, Trump melted down like the Nazis at the end of “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” criticizing the Pope in front of reporters and then posting an image on social media of him as a robed Savior healing a sick man with light emanating from his hands.
The pathetic fiasco even angered Catholic League President Bill Donohue, who has made a career of trashing liberal Catholics and who defended Trump last year when the president shared an image of himself in papal robes and turban following the death of Pope Francis. This time, Donohue considered Trump’s Christ-like imagery “offensive and immature”.
President Trump waves as he returns to the White House on Sunday. During a brief conversation with journalists, he called Pope Leo XI “very generous”.
(Jose Luis Magaña/Associated Press)
The President has a lot to fear these days, and not just because he violated most of the Ten Commandments with his bullshit Jesus posts, which promptly disappeared. One of the few sane adults left in his administration might have reminded him that offending Catholics was a terrible political move. About 55% of them voted for him in the 2024 election, with many swing states like Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin favoring Joe Biden – a Catholic – four years ago.
A Fox News survey was released last week found that only 48% of Catholics nationwide approve of Trump’s overall performance. While 57% of white Catholics still support Trump, most of them are not happy with his actions in Iran – the issue is becoming a thorn in their throat.
Trump’s second term has been a nightmare that is getting worse every day. Yet not only is the country still standing, but more and more people are becoming aware of the travesty it poses to American values. One of the new warriors is Leo, who told reporters he spoke out not to influence politics in his home country but to remind them of what Jesus practiced and preached, in his role as head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
No wonder Trump, who wants to have statues built for himself like a Canaanite king, is so upset.
Maybe Leo’s words will awaken more good people, regardless of their faith, to stand against Trump — and especially inspire lost Catholics to return to the Mother Church.
American Catholics have long served as a barometer of acceptance for newcomers and the working class. But only about 20% of Americans identify as Catholic, according to a Pew Research Center study released last year. And only 30% of those Catholics attend weekly Mass. Many people leave the faith rather than embrace it, at a rate far higher than other Christian denominations. This collapse has allowed the conservative wing of the Catholic Church to move away from its historic mission and lead us toward Trump.
My lifelong commitment to social justice and my eternal suspicion of power and greed come from what I learned growing up at St. Boniface in Anaheim. I also aspired to become a priest, because I find few things more noble than devoting my life to helping others.
When I started covering church sex abuse scandals as a journalist I stopped attending Mass. I was angry that people who considered themselves God’s guardians on earth not only allowed such crimes to be committed, but generally covered them up and sent the criminals to poor neighborhoods like mine.
I never stopped praying or considering myself Catholic — but I couldn’t bring myself to support institutions led by people like L.A. Archbishop Jose H. Gomez and Orange Bishop Kevin Vann, who always have sharp words for progressives but never for Trump.
Writing openly and proudly about my faith has been a long journey for me — but Trump’s continued heresies have made it necessary. I still don’t know when or if I’ll start attending Mass regularly again, but the fact that I’m thinking about it shows the influence Leo has on me.
Recently, when I was doing an interview someone noticed the word “Amor” written on the other side of my Scapular of Santo Niño de Atocha. Last year, I hid this simple necklace, a symbol of devotion, inside a plastic sleeve bearing my Los Angeles Times badge, along with some religious medals.
Pope Leo caused this. Trump caused it. Any opportunity to talk about my Catholic faith and why Trump is bad, I’m going to take.
I’m not afraid.
