In this country, we have the left (liberals) and the right (conservatives) going against each other on so many issues. Both sides are guilty of distorting the truth and creating fake news. If the left plays God without believing in him much, the right plays God while claiming that they believe in him.
Recently, Pope Francis had an interview with a Spanish newspaper on the day of Trump's inauguration and was asked what he thought about Trump. He said that he wanted to wait to see how he acts, what he does, before forming an opinion. Toward the end of the interview, the Holy Father added that the rise of any populist figure could be a cause for concern, citing Hitler as an example. He is making a point, but the moment I read that, I was quite certain that the right would seize upon this "undiplomatic slip" and accuse him of comparing Trump with Hitler. Sure enough, one popular Christian (non-Catholic) network on the right in a YouTube video called for all Catholics to leave their church and find Christianity elsewhere. This saddened me and almost made me laugh at the same time, for so many Protestants are ignorant of the fact that Catholics do not leave the Church just because the Pope or a bishop or their pastor is someone they don't like or is a sinner – the faithful remain with the Church because it was established and given to them by Christ to be guardian of the whole truth. Unlike Protestants, Catholics do not shop around for a church or denomination until they find one that appeals to them. Also, Protestants in general are not required to belong to any church and can even start a church of their own. By the way, I read one page of the comments on that video – the vile words and foulmouthed expressions used by the commentators were shocking in condemning the Holy Father and the Catholic Church. I just hope that they are not representative of the majority of the people of this country. What that presenter of the video did and caused was exactly what the Pope was concerned about.
For all Christians who wish to spread any kind of message in public, remember these two sayings. (1) When the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery to Jesus and were ready to stone her, Jesus said, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." (2) I say, "If you cause anyone to hate more and love less, that could not have been prompted by the Holy Spirit."
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