If you happen to find yourself in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican today, that vibration you feel beneath your feet is likely caused by St. John Paul II spinning in his sacred crypt.  John Paul, born Karol Josef Wojtyla and pope of the Catholic Church from 1978 until his death in 2005, would undoubtedly be reacting negatively to the action of his successor, Pope Francis, who this week chose Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego to take over as archbishop of Washington, D.C.

McElroy is one of the most liberal cardinals in America and a staunch progressive supporter of present-day Pope Francis.  The fact that McElroy has been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump and an advocate of progressive disruption among his followers can be seen only as an intentional stick in the eye of our newly re-elected leader.

A month into Trump’s first term, McElroy said, ”We must disrupt those who would seek to send troops into our streets to deport the undocumented, to rip mothers and fathers from their families.  We must disrupt those who portray refugees as enemies rather than our brothers and sisters in terrible need.  We must disrupt those who train us to see Muslim men, women, and children as forces of fear rather than as children of God.”  He continued his criticism in 2018, when he said, regarding Trump’s border wall, ”It is a sad day for our country when we trade the majestic, hope-filled symbolism of the Statue of Liberty for an ineffective and grotesque wall which both displays and inflames the ethnic and cultural divisions that have long been the underside of our national history,” according to Millennial Journal.  He also questions his own Church’s statements condemning abortion and calling for more understanding for the LGBT communities.

I was born and raised Catholic, although I can certainly claim no prize for dutiful adherence to Catholic attendance preferences.  Despite six years as an altar boy, I will undoubtedly need the intervention of my sainted mother’s influence for my salvation, being confident that she is on first-name basis not only with John Paul II, but also with Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, her all-time favorite member of Catholic clergy.

What my mother, and then I, because of her influence, found most compelling about those two clerics was their firm adherence to their beliefs.  True beliefs should best be set in stone, not subject to idle breezes of progressive folly or mischief.  No one amends the Ten Commandments.  Acting as theological windsocks was not in the repertoire of Wojtyla or Sheen.

Like so many other progressives, McElroy often misstates Donald Trump’s intentions.  Donald Trump does not want to tear families apart, but he does insist on adherence to our laws.  He does not want to enflame our cultural and ethnic divides.  He wants us to embody a cultural melting pot, a colorblind society.  He wants an America that is great for every American, LGBT included.

Pope Francis has done his Church and followers no favors by acting on his progressive, likely communist ideology.  Placing a man like McElroy directly at the White House doorstep can only be seen as a provocation, if not an outright insult to a man who wants nothing more than unity in our nation.  I can only hope that my mother might put in a word to Karol to urge a bit of divine action on the part of their Boss to help our great nation.  It does seem He may be so inclined, having turned Donald Trump’s head at exactly the necessary moment.  The time now seems to be at hand to turn the heads of our present pope and his disciple in D.C., once again, to the right, which was necessary to save Donald Trump’s life.  This time, a right turn would likely aid in saving us all.

Bill Hansmann is a dentist and dental educator with over fifty years in the profession.  He continues to teach and write political blogs and semi-mediocre novels while living with his wife and cats in Georgia.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.