(LifeSiteNews) — On this episode of Faith and Reason, John-Henry Westen, Father Charles Murr, and Frank Wright discuss rumors that Pope Francis plans to appoint liberal American bishops to resist the Trump administration, the recent Gaza ceasefire deal, Trump’s first week in office, and more.
The panel began the episode by analyzing a rumor that the apostolic nuncio to the United States, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, allegedly told one of his drivers that the Pope plans to appoint 15-45 liberal bishops in a six-week span beginning January 20 to counter all of the Trump administration’s initiatives.
Westen noted that Francis has long held disdain for Trump, going back to when he first ran for president in 2016, and the Pontiff stated he was “not Christian” for wanting to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Murr said he wasn’t surprised by the report but did find it disheartening.
“That’s all he does is name liberal bishops, but that he’s doing it specifically, according to the papal nuncio, as a sort of counterattack to Trump. This is very disturbing,” the priest said.
“That’s the way most of us see the appointment of Cardinal McElroy to Washington is for that very purpose. And we find that very disheartening,” he added.
Murr then added that Trump should at least be given a chance to govern before we start condemning him.
“I would like to give President Trump a chance before we condemn him… I think to stack all your bishops against him [is] very, very, very dangerous,” the priest said.
Wright underscored that the Modernist Vatican is more concerned with politics than Catholicism and is trying to counteract Trump because he opposes their liberal agenda and thus is a political enemy.
“And of course, this is why the Church is marshaling its forces against the Trump agenda, because he isn’t a liberal, and the liberal idea is generally finished and in retreat elsewhere. All the ideological bureaucracies of which outnumber the modern church is one like NATO and the World Health Organization and the World Economic Forum are also finished,” Wright said.
Then Wright pondered why the Church is fighting for illegal immigration and other liberal ideas while cracking down on Catholic tradition.
“Why is [the Church] fighting for this liberal idea? Why has it become liberal in the first place? And why doesn’t it put up a similar fight to defend Catholic tradition and, indeed, the Catholic faith? Because not only does it not do this … it’s actually suppressing the traditional Catholic Church whilst at the same time aggressively supporting the liberalizing and liberal agenda, which is Modernism. Which has always been condemned by the Church until it was wholesale adopted by the modern vehicle of the Catholic Church,” he said.
Later in the episode, the panel turned to the recent ceasefire and hostage exchange deal reached by Israel and Hamas just before Trump returned to the White House, as he promised, despite concerns about the president’s Zionist tendencies. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also reportedly upset by the deal.
Wright stressed that it’s worth celebrating that the killing has at least temporarily stopped in Gaza and expressed optimism that the Russia-Ukraine War may also soon come to an end.
“Yes, it does seem to be that he’s delivered a deal that has ended the killing for now, with some very strong caveats … That deal has put an end so far to that 15-month slaughter. And it also looks extremely promising from the Russians too, we shouldn’t forget about Ukraine. Many people have warned about the possible escalation to nuclear war,” Wright said.
“The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, said today that ‘We are open to approaches from the Trump administration,’ and they’ve received encouraging messages such as the fact that the Trump administration recognizes the Russians’ concerns over the absorption of Ukraine into NATO, which is really where all this business started,” he added.
But Wright urged caution before celebrating the ceasefire too much.
“I would proceed with extreme caution over celebrations over Israel because, as the Israeli press points out themselves today, there’s considerable confusion in the Israeli army itself as to how sincere this is and what they are supposed to be doing. So, let’s wait and see, but very good news so far,” he said.
Murr emphasized that Trump’s approach of “peace through strength” seems to be working.
“You’re not going to get peace through weakness. We’ve been doing that for decades; it doesn’t work; through strength, it does work. And what a great way because it’s good for everyone that we be honest, that we be forthright in our positions, and that we stand by them for the sake of peace, not for the sake of war. I like his attitude, I like his approach, and I’m sure hoping that it’s [peace] going to come to fruition,” the priest said.
For more discussion on Pope Francis’ alleged plans to appoint liberal bishops to resist Trump’s policies, the Gaza ceasefire deal, and much more, tune in to this episode of Faith and Reason.
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