Pope Leo a breath of fresh air in Trump's belligerent world

Mail & Guardian

9 hours ago

Pope Leo XIV. (X)
Pope Leo XIV, in the strict sense of the word, is no politician. But, as the foremost world church leader — head of the Catholic Church — his voice holds sway, and carries weight, in shaping the world's political discourse.
He speaks to the universal church and, by extension, to the people who populate the world. His voice reverberates; it reaches billions of the faithful — and those with no faith.
He speaks with the authority conferred on him by his office, and when he does, the world takes notice; the political principalities of the world pay attention.
This is because his views are couched in language that, although gentle, speaks with great force to all citizens of the world — especially to political leaders who abuse their authority, causing great pain to 'the children of God', to use the biblical lexicon.
Of course, for a variety of reasons, this seems a tall order. Implied in what is given to us by historical facts is that society, since time immemorial, has been driven by different understandings of the workings of the world. The people of the world have been at each other's throats, even as they seek to achieve happiness.
Billions of dollars, or whatever denomination one might prefer to choose, have been used to try to settle political and ideological scores, while billions of people throughout the world continue to starve to death because of a plethora of unfavourable human conditions that militate against good living.
It does bother the pope when political ideologies are used to cause conflict that threatens peace in the world — and he does raise his concerns sharply, offering advice through the church and its bishops and archbishops, who in turn become transmitters of his concerns and words to the world.
We know Donald Trump, president of the US, wants to make, in his own words, 'America great again', whatever that might mean. This he does through belligerent language, and at the risk of creating worldwide tensions, keeping everyone on tenterhooks, with no knowledge of what might happen next.
Some political analysts and thinkers have, in the recent past, responding to Trump's belligerence, expressed trepidation about what might happen if the stand-off between the warring parties does not stop.
Some are already predicting the onset of an armageddon or a third world war.
In the past few months and weeks, dangerous missiles have flown, causing mayhem and panic, with Israeli soldiers and American bombers being, in the main, the aggressors and seemingly stoking fires and showing their countries' military muscle.
World War II was caused by belligerence and racial animosity. Adolf Hitler's madness contributed to the madness.
This was because of a lack of foresight, with the mind of a sadist and racial bigot at work, obsessed with power and putrid thoughts of racial hatred, driven by anti-Semitism that knew no bounds. And the desire to corrupt the world order.
Trump, driven by his own destructive and divisive evangelical zeal, and given to a great deal of abusing biblical texts, consistent with what American religious zealotry stands for, is hellbent on resurrecting America and 'rescuing' it from the imagined jaws of communism and socialism which, in his small mind, are a threat to the well-being of society.
The world Trump inhabits is marked by America spoiling for a fight, flaunting the military might of the US army. His language is militaristic.
But we have to wonder, at a philosophical level, could it be that humans have not been completely cleansed of their original state of nature, as seen by philosopher Thomas Hobbes, when the world is beset by leaders of Trump's calibre?
In that old society, disruption was the order of the day, with no rules, and a society marked with unmitigated violence, with no government to speak of.
But the recent election of Pope Leo XIV as the head of the worldwide Catholic Church seemed to bring about a much-needed breath of fresh air — and indirectly critiqued the chaos unleashed by Trump and his warring allies and adversaries.
First, it is axiomatic that political leaders ought to set the tone for sound world politics and for good governance.
When World War II ended, the UN committed itself to securing international peace, preventing conflicts and promoting cooperation, among other things, underpinned by a culture of human rights.
This is exactly where Leo comes in. As the head of the Catholic Church his comments about society, morality, politics and social justice carry weight.
Recently, when the pope addressed his archbishops in Rome, he talked about the value of good ethical leadership and the need for the archbishops to cascade this value down to communities.
He spoke about 'the human virtues of fairness, sincerity, magnanimity, openness of mind and heart … great openness to listening and engaging in dialogue and willingness to serve'.
A few points can be teased out of what the pope is telling, not only the faithful, but the world at large.
First, he explores the idea of human virtue which is made up of fairness, sincerity, magnanimity and openness.
Without these qualities, or virtues, society is bound to produce self-serving world leaders who are incapable of thinking about the people they lead.
To make 'America great' is to play a dominant role in world affairs — and possibly shorthand for expressing racial barbs directed at Barack Obama's two-term tenure in the White House — the first black US president.
Trump, in his wildest dreams, could never countenance the idea of a black man elected to the high office of president of the US.
These sentiments are contrary to what the UN demands and desires. It encourages cooperation; gestures of support for others, particularly under-resourced nations; dialoguing about the well-being of all countries and being magnanimous in all things, of human rights and social justice and the willingness to embrace others for the common good of all nations.
Also, significantly, it is for the powerful nations 'to rejoice with those who rejoice and suffer with those who suffer' — in a spirit of human solidarity, of caring about others and ensuring, if you are a wealthy nation, you owe it to yourself to help less well-endowed countries.
Speaking pertinently about things that matter, albeit theological, the pope said: 'Our patron saints followed different paths, had different ideas and at times argued with one another with evangelical frankness. Yet this did not prevent them from a fruitful harmony in diversity.'
We all need each other. Our separateness, continent by continent, is artificial and has often resulted in seeing each other as different.
In biblical language, humans are children of God, belonging to one common ancestry, sharing the same life-giving planet and the wisdom it offers — which is that we ought to belong to each other and desist from mounting hegemonic battles against each other.
And so, we all belong to Mother Earth — we are all her products. We need to disabuse ourselves of the notion that some belong and others do not belong.
Colonisation was driven by the idea that others, weaker folk, could easily be dispensed of or displaced by stronger folk — all in the name of hegemony.
Stephen Bantu Biko, using his liberating black consciousness philosophy, urged black people to recognise their inherent worth and unite to challenge the psychological effects apartheid and racial oppression imposed on them and, with pride and conviction, he urged them to focus on black solidarity and strive to create an egalitarian society where all races coexist.
Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, the president of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania — and in some circles regarded as the 'president Azania (South Africa) never had' — rejected the notion of multiracialism. However, he strongly averred that 'there is only one race, the human race', emphatic throughout his short life — he died at 53 in 1978 — about the shared humanity of all people, holding that, in the 'new Azania', racial classification would be rendered irrelevant, arguing that it is an artificial construct 'used to divide the oppressed', which must have no place in a nonracial society.
Today, Leo is saying the same things — he is telling us to be complete as humanity. We need each other, even though we might not always agree on everything.
The world is lucky to have a thoughtful leader such as Pope Leo XIV — a wise prophet emerging from the crucible of human struggle in Peru — described in an editorial in that country in these terms: 'We have a pope who understands the true meaning of living in solidarity with the poor.'
Contrast him with Trump, his countryman. They are poles apart, with the pope filled with the spirit of love and humanity and compassion and kindness, and Trump given to bullying and with no time to entertain other people's viewpoints.
Jo-Mangaliso Mdhlela is an independent journalist, a social justice activist, a former trade unionist and an Anglican priest.