by Emil Guillermo
Easter greetings. As I write this, I’ve just watched a moving display by the most powerful American in the world.
Donald Trump? Sorry, DJT. You’re nothing where it counts.
The most powerful American right now is Robert Prevost of Chicago, also known as Pope Leo.
I just saw him forgive all those assembled at St. Peter’s Square with his Easter blessing and message. And the blessing applies to all following on Radio and TV.
They were all eligible to receive a plenary indulgence, essentially full remission of temporal punishment for their sins.
Clean slate. That’s better than what you get when you buy a Trump meme coin.
Before the blessing, you just had to receive the message, and today it was all about non-violence, and being one who “rejects the instinct for revenge” and to instead be “filled with compassion and praise for the one who has committed the offense” toward oneself.
That’s tough. Essentially, it’s “love your enemy.”
Leo called that the “strength that brings peace to humanity” that fosters “respectful relationships at every level, not merely individuals, but families, social groups, and nations.”
“It’s a strength that does not seek private interests, but the common good,” said Leo. “It does not seek to impose its own plan, but to help design and carry out a plan together with others.”
And then he pointed to the significance of Easter.
“Christ’s resurrection is the beginning of a new humanity,” Leo said. “It is the entrance into the true Promised Land where justice, freedom, and peace reign. Where we all recognize one another as brothers and sisters, children of the same father, who is love, life, and light.”
“Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace,” the Pope said. “Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue, not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them.”
The Pope warned that we are all accustomed to violence that exists in the world to the point of indifference. “We’re indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people, indifferent to the repercussions of hatred and division, indifferent to the economic and social consequences they produce which we all feel globally,” he said.
Leo called it the “globalization of indifference,” a phrase he borrowed from the late Pope Francis, who a year ago reminded us “what a great thirst for death, for killing we witness each day in the many conflicts raging in different parts of the world.”
Leo said “we cannot afford to continue to be indifferent,” as he announced a prayer vigil for peace on April 11 at St. Peter’s Square.
“Let us abandon every desire for conflict, domination, power, and implore the lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by wars, and marked by hatred and the indifference that makes us feel powerless to the face of evil.”
He ended saying, “We entrust all hearts that suffer and await the true peace that only He can give….Happy Easter.” And then to all those who could hear him, he forgave them their sins.
I doubt Donald Trump was listening. But he was the target. The pope was less direct in this Easter message, as he ended a week that started more directly.
On Palm Sunday Leo said: “God rejects the prayers of those who wage war because they have blood on their hands.”
That sounded like a shot at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who sprinkles scripture over war like it’s holy water. But no—the Pope’s aim was higher. Straight at the president.
“I was told President Trump says he wants to end the war. Hopefully, he’s looking for an off-ramp,” Leo said to the media after a papal retreat.
An off-ramp. A detour from hell. Then the Pope made it plain: “Hopefully, he’s looking for a way to decrease the violence and bombing…a significant contribution to reducing the hatred that’s growing in the Middle East and elsewhere.”
And then the simplest, hardest thing: “Come back to the table. Dialogue. Reduce the violence. Let peace reign.”
A prayer. A plea. A warning. If it was heard in Washington, it didn’t stick.
Trump’s Sin Undeterred
Trump usually doesn’t like to share the stage on deeply religious holidays. Last Christmas, when the Pope was in the spotlight, Trump chose that day to bomb suspected ISIS targets in Nigeria. Merry Christmas.
This year, he seemed to resurrect his war proclivities when that second F-15 pilot was found safely. “We got him” Trump posted just past midnight Easter Sunday (ET).
The rescue was a display of commando force, the kind that gets, Trump excited. One Blackhawk helicopter was impacted by enemy fire, and personnel were injured. But all are now safe.
“An AMAZING show of bravery and talent by all,” the president tweeted. And now he’s re-energized.
In an Easter morning post, the president wrote: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!! Open the F*ckin’Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell–Just Watch! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
I don’t think he was following the Pope’s social media feed.
Reversal
It’s a far cry from midweek, when Trump seemed sleepy and tired after his incoherent national address, a strange, rambling, contradictory speech where he claimed we basically won and obliterated Iran, but we would keep bombing just the same.
He suggested countries dependent on the Strait of Hormuz should just…buy American oil.
Monetize the war. Then he told them to “take the strait” themselves. Do your own war. America’s out. Except—we’re not. Because he also said bombing would continue for two to three weeks.
He floated targeting energy infrastructure—war crime territory—then reminded us that nothing stops him but his own “moral authority.” His words. So now he’s the referee? Or something higher?
That’s where we were left. A president grading his own morality. And then reality hit.
Iran shot down that U.S. F-15. Two American pilots ejected. Just like that, the abstraction became real. This isn’t a video game. This isn’t a tweet.
This is Americans in harm’s way—because of a war launched on impulse. Trump’s war. Iran’s military obliterated? Not exactly.
Budget Blast
Trump rolled out a massive $1.5 trillion defense budget–a $440.9 billion dollar increase–plus another $200 billion for the Iran war.
And what gets cut? The State Department. Because diplomacy is apparently optional. Also on the chopping block: Health and Human Services. Housing. Education. All the things that actually make America livable. So much for “America First.”
The candidate who promised to end forever wars? He’s expanding one. The guy who ran on fiscal responsibility? He’s lighting money on fire. This isn’t “America First.” This is “American Might.” And not the good kind. The kind that lines us up with the autocrats—Russia, China, North Korea.
That’s the club. That’s the aspiration. At the expense of everyday Americans.
So, Where Are We Now?
So no, there’s not much comfort this Holy Week. Not after that speech. Not after that budget. Not after that trajectory.
When Trump finally exits what he calls his “little journey to Iran,” it won’t be remembered for what it achieved. It will be remembered for why it started. And how it spiraled.
Because when the most powerful American in the world—a man of peace—asked for an off-ramp… Trump hit the gas. And kept going.The man warned about blood on his hands, doesn’t have enough. He simply wants more.
EMIL GUILLERMO is an award-winning journalist, commentator, and comic monologist. He has written his “Amok” column since 1995. Watch his micro-talk show on YouTube @emilamok1.
About Author
+ There are no comments
Add yours