Donald Trump in Biden and Catholicism, by Massimo Faggioli
On Immigration:
Opposes Vatican view of multicultural global resettlement
An element of tension between Francis's world view and that of the United States (and that of an influential part of Christianity in America) is the theological and social understanding of the epochal crisis of our time: migrants and refugees. On this
issue there is little difference, and indeed a visible convergence, between the visions of the U.S. Bishops and Francis, except for implications of the implicit support of some Bishops for Donald Trump. But there are deeply rooted cultural differences.
For Francis, the church and the world are in a process of global resettlement. If the American establishment sees a world of settlers and a nation colonized by Christians, Francis looks and sees a world of re-settlers. Francis's embrace of migrants
and refugees has consequences for the meaning of religious freedom in a multicultural and multireligious world. From this point of view, between Francis's Vatican and Biden's White House there is a greater convergence than in the recent past.
Source: Biden and Catholicism, by Massimo Faggioli, p. 74-75
Jan 20, 2021
On Principles & Values:
Trump visit to Vatican more about detente than armistice
The Trump presidency introduced tensions unprecedented in the history of relations between the United States and the Vatican; this was not merely the result of a political accident but an index of divergent long-term trajectories. Pope Francis's
particular attention to building bridges with Islam, the environmental issue, the pivots towards Asia, the Church's witness on immigration, and other social issues are part of a long-term vision for global Catholicism. While Trump's interactions with
Francis during his May 2017 visit to the Vatican with First Lady Melania Trump followed protocol, even projecting a sense of diplomatic normalcy, on the Vatican side, that visit was an attempt at "detente" rather than armistice.
The idea was to introduce the pathogen of Trumpism into the symbolic and administrative heart of Catholicism, to make Rome the parallel capitol of a new anti-European and anti-Francis continent. That project, undertaken between 2018 and 2019, failed.
Source: Biden and Catholicism, by Massimo Faggioli, p. 69
Jan 20, 2021
On Principles & Values:
Aligned with Catholic leaders critical of Pope Francis
It is no coincidence that Archbishop Vigano addressed President Trump with a series of public messages during the 2020 election campaign and that the former nuncio received by
Trump both public praise and a sense of legitimacy. This liaison dangereuse between Vigano and Trump continued well into the transition period after November 3, during the attempts orchestrated by the
Trump movement to undermine the legitimacy of the election results via both legal challenges and Trump rallies. At the rally of December 12, in Washington, D.C., former nuncio appeared in the video, while some members of the
Catholic clergy were present in person, and one of them addressed Trump supporters from the podium delivering something like an attempt at a political exorcism against the election of Joe Biden.
Source: Biden and Catholicism, by Massimo Faggioli, p. 97
Jan 20, 2021
Page last updated: Nov 25, 2021