OPINION | SECTION
A Historic First: An American Pope Rises as a U.S. President Stands Accused of Dividing a Nation and World Morally and Illegally.
By Debbie Washington | June 6, 2025
In one of the most spiritually charged moments in the history of the world—filled with extreme excitement, hope, and spiritual energy; juxtaposed against heightened fear and negative political energy.
For the first time, a U.S.-born Pope has taken the throne of St. Peter at a time when all eyes are on America, as Trumpism, MAGA, and the Heritage Foundation and its Project 25 are plunging his homeland—and the global population—into deep and ubiquitous moral peril. Unfortunately, with Donald Trump back in the Oval Office and issuing a whirlwind of executive orders seeking to take apart democratic policies and human rights protections to reward the powerful, and silence the American people.
Today’s American landscape and global affairs are becoming increasingly darker each and every passing day. Yet, at the same time the that the U.S. faces what appears to be a rising tide of authoritarianism, the Catholic Church, under its new leadership, seems to have responded with a strong symbol of resistance. This new American Pope will hopefully be a beacon of hope and civility for the American people, and confront the soul-threatening ideology of Trumpism and the expanding MAGA influence on the “World Order.”
It appears that this Pope does not come to praise the new American empire but to call it to repentance. In Trump’s second term, cruelty has become the official policy. Immigrants are once again vilified, social safety nets are slashed, and civil liberties are eroded under the banner of “Law and Order.” The vulnerable—the poor, the disabled, people of color, and ethnic minorities, find themselves once more in the cross hairs of the powerful. All while Trump and his minions move with lighting speed destroying countless institutions and policies to support the less fortunate in society.
They (the Trump New World Order) have partnered with the Heritage Foundation cloaks under the guise of Christianity, they are betraying almost everything that has been taught through the Gospel of Christ—also known as the good news.
What’s even more disturbing is President Trump’s latest move: the establishment of a new “Office of Religious Unity” within the White House. This move is in direct opposition not only to Thomas Jefferson in his 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptist Association but also by James Madison the Father of the Constitution. Madison’s motivation for the separation of church and state was to prevent religious wars, and the persecutions seen in Europe.
Notwithstanding, Madison, a deep and profound thinker, was aware of and did not desire a repeat of religious justifications European colonizers use to enslave Africans and reward colonialism. The merging of the two, religion and politics, are a powerful tool when intertwined, especially for bad or ungodly purposes.
Although the Bible does share its thoughts on the matter when Jesus, in Matthew 22:21 he instructs individuals by saying, “render to Caesar things that belong to Caesar and to God things that are God’s”—which clearly defines the difference in the areas of accountability. Jesus also distinguishes the Kingdom of God, by citing that it is not of this world and its earthly government. Governments that was created by God for the good of society. In other words, to be of benefit to all and not the affluent few.
The barely concealed attempt by the Trump administration, the Heritage Foundation, and others to redefine Christianity to fit their political agenda is quite apparent and is unholy. The people can sees through the deceit and the indoctrination plan for Americans by Trump, MAGA, and the Heritage Foundation’s Project 25 conservative agenda.
It a wicked and debilitating initiative for the American people. Far from promoting genuine faith; incorporating the need to be forgiving, kind, and living a morally upright life, this office is staffed with Trump loyalist having far-right ideologies who weaponize religion against its own core values.
Their mission is not to uplift the faithful but to control them—using state power to enforce a narrow, nationalist version of Christianity which aligns with MAGA and the Heritage Foundation’s ideology. This is not faith but fascism cloaked in religious garb.
The new Pope, holding up the Holy Bible, declared, “There will be no distortion of the truth. “These are the rules written for both believers and non-believers—any distortion is a threat to the moral fabric of humanity.” Pope Leo XIV is a Shepherd for a Nation Under Siege by Trumpism and for countries already in, or grappling with the possibility of, war. This Pope faces a monumental task.
This distortion of religion should alarm every believer—and nonbeliever—in America. Trump’s office doesn’t just threaten Christian authenticity; it marginalizes other faiths entirely. Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and indigenous spiritual communities now face a federal government openly promoting their new religious order over all others. This is far from religious freedom, it’s religious domination in violation of the First Amendment principals.
The new Pope, Cardinal Robert Prevost aka Pope Leo XIV, is aware of these threats, and he has begun to use the global weight of the Catholic Church to speak out. In the Pope’s first major address, he warned the faithful rise of the Christian nationalism and has requested the people to stay away from it. He asked that it be denounced, because it as a “betrayal of Crist’s cross for the sake of a political crown.” He has called on bishops, clergy, and laity to resist authoritarianism, and to protect the vulnerable. He has asked that they stand firm against state’s encroachment into the Church’s mission of truth, mercy, and justice.
This is a time marked by a real risk from Trump loyalist. The new Pope is currently facing a number of backlash’s from pro-Trump religious leaders in America who have accused him of heresy, and being “woke” and meddling in Trump’s political endeavors.
Resembling Trump’s defiance, this Pope is also unrelenting and undeterred by his critics. He understands that silence in the face of tyranny is complicity. His vision of faith is not one of comfort or that of compliance but of courage—the kind that challenges power, defends the oppressed, and proclaims the Gospel unapologetically.
A crowd of onlookers cheer with hope as a small child is lifted high, symbolizing the future. All eyes turn to the American Pope, as he is seen a a beacon of change for a struggling world—especially the United States of America under Trumpian authoritarian rule.
This papacy: the office of the Pope, “Cardinal Robert Prevost ‘aka Pope Leo XIV'” is emerging as a counterweight to the Trump administration that seems to have lost its soul to the wealthy billionaires and business tycoons. The Pope is calling Americans back to the fundamentals of true faith, and not a hollow religiosity used to justify cruelty as was done during the Mid-Atlantic Slave Trade and the Antebellum period thereafter.
It was a time that European colonizers pitched religion to slaves to control them during slavery. A history that many want people to forget. To repeat this undesirable fate is not a in the cards, as we the people of God only seek a life rooted in love, justice, humility, and truth. This Pope stands not as a partisan political figure but as a prophetic voice of thy Lord, calling on all America to choose between the false god embodied in the new spirit of Trumpism and authoritarian nationalism or the living God of mercy and peace.
Finally, I am humbled by this new development in Vatican City, as the newly elected Pope offers not just a political solution to the ongoing chaos in Washington, D.C. and throughout the world, but he offers a spiritual reckoning. The battle lines are not left against right, but good versus evil, truth versus lies, compassion versus cruelty.
America is bleeding, morally and spiritually, and the Church now has a fierce leader willing to bind the wounds and speak the hard truths. Whether this nation will listen or continue its descent into darkness—remains to be seen. However, the Pope has made his choice clear: he will not bow to Caesar. He will follow Christ. Which one will you seek?
The Pope, through gentle hand gestures, calms the exuberant crowd of faithful Christians. He shares a mission of renewed hope—reaching out to the misdirected and welcoming the immigrant stranger with compassion and purpose. A lesson to be learned by the Trump administration.