The Chair of Peter or Donald Trump

This is a letter addressed to Roman Catholics although I invite everyone to read it. ……….

Dear Pro-Trump anti-Francis Catholic Brethren:

For those of you who constantly criticize Pope Francis and the collective Magisterial authority of the Church, why do you do this?   Don’t you recollect that Pope Francis is the Chair of Peter/Vicar of Christ?  Have you forgotten that he is the 266th Successor to the Apostle Peter? Do you remember that Jesus Christ Himself founded the Church upon The Rock of Peter? If you can’t remember, please read the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 16, a good dose of the early Church Fathers like Clemet, Tertullian, Peter of Alexandria, Jerome, and more, and a few secular historical sources like Encyclopedia Britannia and New World Encyclopedia. Is there a possibility that God actually placed Pope Francis in the Chair of St. Peter for “such a time as this?”

Pope Francis’s largest strength is his grounding in Catholic Social Teaching which addresses these areas: Life and Dignity of the Human Person, Call to Family, Community, Participation Rights and Responsibilities, Options for the Poor and the Vulnerable, The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers, and Solidarity. Pope Francis is a world servant-leader and can see the needs of humanity in a panoramic view unlike most of us. He spent many years serving the poor in places like Buenos Aries. I invite you to read his actual encyclicals such as Fratelli Tutti, Laudato Si, and Lumen Fidei which give great detail about the state of humanity which is in crisis worldwide.  In these encyclicals, Pope Francis actually clarifies moral teachings while giving pastoral care guidelines. Pope Francis further clarifies the Church’s historic teaching that all life is sacred from conception to natural death. Yet, our right-winged political climate has created an obsession with abortion, contraception, and same-sex marriage while even placing these teachings above the lives and human dignity of the world.   Is it possible that Pope Francis, the Vatican, and the Magisterial authority combined are wiser than us? Do you think Pope Francis was right about vaccine administration?  Do you think he is correct about parents not rejecting their gay children? I do; he saves tens of thousands of lives by following by mainstream research and science.

I converted to Catholicism over the issue of authority and to receive authoritative direction from the living collective voice of the day.  Jesus Christ started the Catholic Church historically, so that authority has been passed down for 2000 years through the historic priesthood by Apostolic Succession.  Peter was historically the primary authority as the first Pope. All secular major historical sources confirm this. The Magisterium of the Church with the Chair of Peter are still the living voice for Catholics when it comes to issues such as voting, the vaccine, and other sciences, those modern-day issues which cannot be addressed by the Bible, the Church Fathers, or historic Church documents. During this election cycle, the Common Good of humanity at-large outweighed the current rate of abortion which has been steadily declining since Reagan. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops addressed 47 life issues in their voting guide which have been neglected and weaponized by the abortion issue for 40 years through alt-right American politics.

A friend of mine named John Woodman, a strong Christian, father of six, husband, published author, and researcher wrote this about the state of the American Church and our nation.

I am adding Pope Francis’s name to this as well, not equating him to Christ but his role as the Chair of Peter/Vicar of Christ.

“Christ and Pope Francis stood for truth; Trump told thousands of lies. This was easily proven by anyone who tested his words.  Christ, Pope Francis, and our constitution say we are all created equally; Trump dog-whistled to white supremacists and told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by.” Christ and Pope Francis stand for faithfulness; Trump had multiple affairs, multiple wives, and cheated with a porn star while his wife was pregnant with their child. Christ and Pope Francis stand for the poor; Trump passed a massive wealth transfer from the middle class and working poor to his rich donors.  Christ and Pope Francis speak of kindness to your fellow man; Trump’s rise was marked by bullying and intimidation.  Christ and Pope Francis say that leaders should be servants of all; Trump demanded absolute loyalty and made every effort to destroy anyone who would not bow before him.  Christ speaks of purity while Pope Francis has apologized for impurity in the Church; Trump bragged that he could grab women by the p#$@%  and had more than 20 women who all testified (2 Cor. 13:1) that he had sexually assaulted them.  As a direct result of electing the man that we chose, whom many Christians also claimed was “God’s chosen” (Isaiah 5:20), America experienced a massive COVID death toll of over a million deaths, well over half of which were entirely unnecessary.  –Woodman and Nichols

Please enjoy the trailer of Francesco below. It will remind you of the gift we have in Pope Frances and his love for all of humanity like Jesus Christ.  So let me ask you again, do you now choose the Chair of Peter or Donald Trump? Which person better-supports and encourages the radical love of Christ and the Gospels?