As a Christian I am deeply troubled by Pope Francis, who lives in Vatican City, which has the most restrictive immigration and citizenship policies in the world, and accuses presidential candidate Donald Trump of “not being a Christian” for wanting to build a wall to protect the American people. First of all, the Pope is protected by a private army and lives safely behind far bigger walls than Trump plans to build.
Jesus Christ said “judge not, that you be not judged.” Pope Francis said in answering a question about Donald Trump that “a person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.” One can only assume that Pope Francis does not understand that Donald Trump is acting on the Bible’s commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself” by wanting to build a wall to protect law abiding Americans of all ethnic groups and nationalities from crime, terrorist infiltration, and economic destruction. The Pope fails to understand that “building a wall” is an act of love because in order for us to “love our neighbors as ourselves” we must first keep them alive and safe, along with making it possible for them to earn a decent standard of living so they can feed, clothe and house their families.
Vatican Wall
Not building a wall to protect the American people is an act of selfishness, allowing peace and security only for the very wealthy like the Pope who has a private army and lives in a secure and somewhat restricted area, along with movie stars, politicians, and the super-rich bankers and corporate CEOs. By not building a wall our political leaders make it possible for terrorists to come across the border and slaughter men, women, and children or potentially detonate a nuke in an American city. Is it Christian or loving to not protect people from evil?
Building a wall insures economic stability so that Americans of all races and even mothers of small children are not forced to work two jobs to provide for their families due to low wages caused by the labor surplus, which is caused by unrestricted legal and illegal immigration. Is it love to force mothers, fathers, and single women to work multiple jobs so that they have no time to spend with their children? Is that real love?
Of course we should have compassion for those who are less fortunate, but the question is how do we really help them? I do not hear Pope Francis speaking out against the corruption in Mexico and other Central and South American nations, which is causing people to flee their nations and come across the border. Pope Francis accuses Donald Trump of not “building bridges” but instead “building walls,” which implies that he is unloving and selfish and thus not Christian. But to truly love our neighbors as ourselves our actions should actually help our neighbors, whether in our nation or nations across the border, with economic plans that allow them to break free from poverty and become prosperous. This is exactly what Donald Trump is proposing: economic solutions which actually will increase wealth, jobs, and opportunities for the common man. That is love in action.
Conversely, Pope Francis advocates economic solutions based on socialist and Marxist principles which have never solved the problem of poverty in any nation where they have been tried. In fact, the socialist economic solutions Pope Francis has proposed have increased poverty and suffering in every nation where they have been tried, without exception.
Jesus Christ said “we are to judge a tree by its fruit.” What Trump is proposing, including building a wall, both protects people and alleviates economic suffering by giving ordinary men and women the opportunity to improve their lot in life. What Pope Francis is proposing simply brings all men and women, with the exception of the one percent at the top, to a far lower standard of living, which increases human suffering. I am not going to judge the validity of the Pope’s faith, but I can judge the merits of Donald Trump’s economic proposals, and what I see is love in action. By advocating policies that will improve the standard of living for people on both sides of the border and protect them from crime and terrorism Donald Trump (whatever his private beliefs may be) is applying Christian principles to government.
© 2016 Paul McGuire – All Rights Reserved
