It’s Vatican official—according to Pope Francis, Donald Trump is “Not a true Christian.”

The Pope recently wrapped up a visit to Mexico, and upon leaving our Latin American neighbors, he was interviewed by a reporter on the Papal plane back to Rome.

During the interview the Pontiff discussed the humanitarian crisis that is taking place at our southern border, urging Americans to give attention to it. The Pope did not tell American Catholics not to vote for Trump, but—when asked his opinion on Trump’s proposals to halt illegal immigration—he did say: “A person who thinks only about building walls—wherever they may be—and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the gospel.”

Of course, Trump had to fire back, saying the Pope’s comments were “disgraceful,” and that “No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man’s religion or faith.” Trump added that during the Pope’s time in Mexico, the government, “made many disparaging remarks about me to the Pope.”

I’m sorry, but is Trump surprised that the Mexican government has something to say about him?

Trump went on to say: “If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS’s ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been president”. 

Oh, right. Last I heard ISIS’s “ultimate trophy”  was death of America and all that we stand for—which I am pretty sure these days stands at a polar opposite of what the Vatican stands for. It seems to me that with this Pope, the face of Christianity is becoming more all-encompassing and all-loving, while America becomes more ignorant and mired in the hold that fear and blame has on many Americans.

Maybe it’s just me—and maybe it’s not just me—but I have faith that there are others among us watching this circus unfold, in complete disbelief that this is where we have come to.

I understand that religion is a deep wormhole—it’s a highly complex topic that gets people up in arms at the drop of a hat. We need to talk about it though. We need to stop shying away from compassionate, intelligent discussions, out of fear of someone being offended!

I have friends throughout the world who practice various religions, and each one of them has suffered at the hands of someone else’s religious zeal. What makes me angry is that none of these beautiful souls would ever hurt a fly or impose their views on another. None of them seek revenge on America for all the chaos and destruction we have caused. Yet many of my fellow Americans won’t hesitate to judge them, forgetting there are very human faces on the crises in places like Mexico, Syria, Palestine, Africa, Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan, as well as many others.

What these people do seek is humanity, kindness and peace. They seek to be able to live in a stable place where they don’t have to worry about being blown up ion their way to school. They seek a world where we talk to one another and value one another as humans.

It’s embarrassing that my foreign friends are surprised at my kindness and open-mindedness, as an American. We are becoming known in the world based on the words of close-minded fear-mongers people like Donald Trump. I know that Americans are better than this, and it hurts my heart to watch it unfold.

As someone who was raised Catholic, became so disenfranchised with organized religion that I turned Agnostic, then studied religions far and wide from Pagan traditions to Islam—while immersing myself in Buddhism and Hinduism, yoga and meditation to further my spiritual growth—I have come to this: I hated religion for years, and this is exactly why.

It is because people like Trump have been using religion for centuries, to play on people’s beliefs to gain power for themselves and oppress others that don’t agree.

I agree with Pope Francis. You are not a Christian if you believe in hate over love and compassion. Christ would roll over in His grave (if he had one) over the shenanigans the world is pulling in His name.

I know this, and I am not even a Christian.

With intentions of light and universal blessings of love to all of you, I hope that you can consider what I present here—taking a moment with it before reacting if you do not agree with me.

I encourage discussion, so please comment below with mindful views, as I enjoy considering the views of others.

Namaste everyone.

.

Author: Lindsay Carricarte

Editor: Yoli Ramazzina

Photo: Screenshot.