A Pope in the age of Trump. Actually I debated whether to talk about this. It doesn’t really fit the lane I usually stick to. I tend to write about policy, politics, and our messy little Canadian democracy, with a healthy dose of sarcasm and a dash of lived experience. But this? The papacy? That’s not exactly my brand.
Still, I’m going to talk about it. Because something about this moment feels bigger than religion. And because, well, it brought up more than I expected.
Let’s start with some context. I’m not Catholic. Never have been. I was raised Protestant, and let’s just say my marriage to a French-Canadian Roman Catholic didn’t exactly win me a standing ovation from his side of the family. In those days, being a Protestant daughter-in-law wasn’t some quirky anecdote, it was a full-blown problem. That was decades ago, and we’ve all moved on (mostly), but I’d be lying if I said those dynamics didn’t shape how I view the Church.
Which brings me to this: very few people thought the new Pope would be American. There were odds-on favourites, sure, Italy’s second-in-command under Pope Francis seemed like the safe bet. Others pointed to the Church’s fastest-growing communities in Africa or the Philippines, a nod to the global South and a way of recognizing where Catholicism is actually expanding.
But the cardinals went with a curveball. They chose an American.
And not just any American. Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV has been vocal, before and after his election, about the moral urgency of global migration. He’s spoken clearly about the responsibility of wealthy nations to welcome those displaced by war, climate disaster, and economic collapse. He has framed migration not as a problem to be managed, but as a defining test of compassion and leadership in a fractured world. This is not a pope chosen to clamp down and retreat. This is a pope who believes we are a moving world, and that the Church must move with it.
So yes, the Church chose an American Pope. And yes, the MAGA crowd is already grumbling that he’s not their kind of Christian. Which is kind of the point. This wasn’t about appeasing Trumpists. This was about confronting them, from within their own borders, in a language they can’t ignore.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying the Church suddenly became a progressive utopia. It’s still wrestling with its own demons (some quite literally). Pope Francis did something extraordinary: he moved the institution forward. Slowly, awkwardly, imperfectly, but forward. He spoke about climate change, economic inequality, and the need for mercy. He apologized to Indigenous Peoples in Canada, not by issuing a statement from Rome, but by getting on a plane, coming to Canada, and saying the words in person. That mattered at least as a start. That still matters.
So yes, I expected the pendulum to swing back. After all, institutions like the Vatican have a deep fondness for rubber bands. But the American Pope? That’s not a swing, it’s a sidestep. And maybe, just maybe, a strategy.
Because if the Church wants to remain relevant in an age of disinformation and division, it has to engage with the places where those forces are growing. And that includes the United States, where truth, decency, and democracy are all under renovation, or possibly foreclosure. Maybe this choice is a form of resistance. Maybe it’s a gamble. But I don’t think it’s an accident.
And for me, personally? It’s strange. I spent much of my adult life as the outsider in a Catholic family, biting my tongue at dinners, holding my own in debates about doctrine versus decency, trying to raise kids with both freedom and faith. I didn’t expect to feel anything about the new Pope. But I do. I feel…hopeful. And slightly vindicated.
And let’s be clear: if the MAGA movement is already mad about this Pope, I’m even more on board. When your enemies are anti-science, anti-women, and anti-truth, having their disapproval is practically a character reference.
Because let’s be honest, religion has been used as a weapon in the U.S. for a long time now. Trumpism didn’t invent it, but it sure did load the chamber. Faith has been twisted into a tool of exclusion, cruelty, and raw political power. Jesus gets name-dropped between gun laws and border walls, while compassion gets kicked to the curb.
But here’s the thing: the Vatican just answered back. And not with more fire and brimstone, but with strategy. The appointment of Pope Leo XIV isn’t just a theological decision. It’s a geopolitical counterstrike, an elegant, calculated response from one of the oldest institutions on Earth to the circus of Christian nationalism.
They chose an American. But not that kind. Maybe, just maybe, the Church is reminding us that religion can still be about humility, about welcoming the stranger, about taking moral risks instead of political sides.
The Catholic Church may be trying to save the world, or at least save its soul. If this Pope can help slow the moral erosion of modern politics, even a little, I’ll call that a win. Or at least a decent Hail Mary.
Nancy's Notes 