Pope Leo’s ties to Iran cloud his judgment

OPINION:

Pope Leo, in what church watchers are describing as unprecedented and historic, recently issued public condemnations against the White House’s military operation against Iran, even going so far as to call out by name President Donald Trump.

But lest we forget: The Holy See — the government of the Catholic Church, headed by the pope himself — has maintained full diplomatic relations with Iran since 1954. The United States, on the other hand, broke off diplomatic ties with the regime in 1980, shortly after dozens of Americans were seized at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held hostage for 444 days.

On Iran, it’s not Trump who’s out of line.

It’s Pope Leo.

His vision is cloudy. His judgment is tainted. And the fact Leo’s come out publicly to denounce Trump and America only calls into question his ability to discern true evil from good — or to at least support good over evil.

This is what he said in response to Trump’s warning of attack on Iranian power plants and infrastructure and accompanying remark that “a whole civilization will die” if the regime didn’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz — a remark, by the way, Trump made as an expression of sadness over the consequences of the regime’s stubbornness and not, as the media have painted it, as an outright threat to eradicate a whole people — but nonetheless, this is what Leo said by way of a reaction: “There are certainly issues of international law here, but even more so a moral issue for the good of the whole, entire population.” He also said Trump’s words were a “threat against the entire people of Iran” and that it was “truly unacceptable.”

Leo also said in his Palm Sunday message that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”

And now the world is a-twitter.

The Associated Press, in Newsmax, put it this way: “While it’s not unusual for popes and presidents to be at cross purposes, it’s exceedingly rare for the leader of the Catholic Church to directly criticize a U.S. leader, and Leo later named Trump directly and expressed optimism that the president would seek ‘an off-ramp’ in Iran.”

Leo should stick to the business of the church and let Trump take care of the business of U.S. foreign policy, American government and commanding the military against an enemy that has for decades sought the nation’s destruction, both in word — “death to Israel, death to America” — and deed. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the regime has been responsible for killing, kidnapping and injuring more than 1,000 Americans. Meanwhile, money continues to flow from the hands of terrorist Iranians into those of proxy terrorists who have then waged attacks against innocent American citizens.

The war against the United States is real.

Iran’s terror against America and U.S. allies is real.

So’s this: “The Bond Between the Vatican and Iran” — a headline from RealClearReligion in 2016 over a story that reported the “strategic partnership” that’s long existed between Iran and the pope.

Yes, that relationship is being tested. As EWTN Vatican just wrote in January, “Iran’s Crackdown Strains Diplomatic Ties With the Vatican.” But curiously, the strain is not due to Iran’s terrorism against American citizens, or Israelis citizens, or its funding of terror around the world.

“The Holy See and Iran have had a continuing dialogue in recent years. But the killing of large numbers of Iranian demonstrators by government forces is causing grave concern inside the Vatican,” EWTN wrote.

How about the grave concerns Iran causes around the world because of its Islamic quest to dominate, to subjugate, to destroy?

For answer — consider this: “The bond between the Vatican and Iran is destined to endure,” Crux wrote in 2016.

That speaks volumes.

The Holy See likes to pretend the pope is an impartial observer — that, as EWTN wrote, the church’s government “will likely not take a clear stance on events in Iran” and instead, focus simply on a “more human-rights-respectful environment.” But this is not what Leo is doing when he calls out Trump’s threats as “truly unacceptable” during an active wartime situation aimed at ridding the world of an evil.

Instead, Leo gives the appearance of favoring one side over another. 

Worse, with diplomatic ties between the Holy See and Iran still intact, even now, even amid the U.S.-Israeli joint effort to take down the regime, he gives the appearance of bowing to evil and emboldening evil, and of actually choosing evil over good.

• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “God-Given Or Bust: Defeating Marxism and Saving America With Biblical Truths,” is available by clicking HERE.