The irony of Donald Trump speaking the other night in New York City at the Al Smith Dinner was not lost on those of us who see the good that has been done in the world on behalf of Catholic Charities.
Trump is a man who has become bigger than sin, he has leaned into his demons and prospered through decades of sexual and financial predation.
He is a man who neither seeks nor deserves absolution.
Confession would be seen as contemptible and a weakness in his narrow, beady eyes.
He is a man who does not desire redemption or forgiveness. Quite happy being the monster he has become - especially since he has enlisted so many others in his cause.
Protected by his wealth and privilege and allowed to transgress with impunity.
The few times he has been held accountable he begrudgingly writes a check and keeps moving.
Committing his victims to secrecy and an unintended vow of silence through NDAs and legal and physical intimidation. He has a whole army of men and women around him now enabling his worst instincts and allowing him to continue to live his evil ways out loud.
Trump recently targeted Haitian immigrants who are here in this country legally and contributing to our society and communities.
He rhetorically attacked families, many of the Catholic faith, along with this henchmen JD Vance; a man who identifies as Catholic but himself disavows the teachings in his sycophantic quest for power.
Would a true Catholic demonize the many migrants from Latin America and Mexico seeking a better life?
Have a people had more of an unwavering faith in the modern era in that particular religion than those Team Trump vilifies and threatens with mass deportation?
My own Irish Catholic grandparents have deep roots in helping the Haitian people in a decades-long relationship with many members of their church on the island of Haiti itself, where they helped build schools through their ties to Catholic Charities.
A shelter my grandmother established in the late 80s in upstate New York still operates today; a testament to her fearless commitment to the principles of her faith.
At the time, she had to take on then Westchester County Executive George Pataki to get Jan Peek House opened.
He opposed it, having no compassion for the folks sleeping on the streets of Peekskill. A man had frozen to death the winter my grandmother decided to do something about it - helping others became her passion.
Now for three decades they have served the unhoused and hungry.
My grandmother never sat on the dias at the ‘Al Smith Dinner’ but former Governor George Pataki was there the other night.
As was Cardinal Dolan, who took no offense to Trump’s insult-comic act but found the time to criticize V.P. Harris for not attending and kissing the ring.
Trump’s behavior towards the resilient and proud people of Haiti alone should have caused any Catholic worth their communion wafer to turn their backs on his vitriol.
Instead Dolan yukked it up with a man who just this year had been convicted of sexual assault and financial crimes in the very city in which they dined and congratulated themselves for good deeds.
Not a thought or word towards those Catholics in Haiti who have had more than their share of sorrow.
It was a moment to make those who don’t already think the worst about the Catholic Church think again and about who and what they are supporting.
Donald Trump makes a mockery of the teachings of Christ; he is the opposite of the Jesuit priest who has informed much of my thinking - Anthony DeMello - for whom a spiritual center is named at Fordham University, one of Trump’s alma maters.
To witness the wealthy and powerful smile alongside such a man as Donald Trump flies in the face of both decency and ecumenical dogma.
Donald Trump is the embodiment of the seven deadly sins: pride, greed, envy, lust, gluttony, wrath and sloth are practically his campaign platform.
He is a bad man any way you slice it and the universal anthesis of what ANY religion would teach.
He attacks his neighbors and harbors no love for his fellow man.
He has risen to power by appealing to the worst instincts of his followers.
He is openly fascistic and courts both white supremacists and violent militias.
The harm and suffering he has already caused far too many people in this country and the world beyond should already earn him a lifetime in purgatory.
Trump believes morality is a sucker’s game.
It is his lack of faith, of decency or humility that allows him to prey upon those less fortunate.
Not just in his decades of predation towards women and girls but in the folks he continues to grift through his lies and endless MAGA scams.
He is the opposite of charity, his own surname is bared from appearing in the charters of charities in the very state that feted him on Thursday night.
Donald will go down in history as perhaps the worst man this country has ever created.
The Catholic Church as a whole has a lot to atone for at the upper levels of its leadership. The Al Smith Dinner was a step backwards when they need to move forward.
In America the church has been infiltrated by Opus Dei and its adherents. Men such as Bill Barr and Leonard Leo and their consigliere on the courts, Brett Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito, have gone out of their way to enact the death penalty and strip women of their reproductive freedoms all with a smug lie that belies any true piety.
Their spirituality is performative, a costume to wear on an endless quest for power.
They are not alone in their duplicity; they are the sort of men who would bring a sack lunch to the inquisition, smiling through the torture of others to appease their own desires.
Judicially and legislatively that is exactly what they are doing - and it will only get worse if Trump is God forbid elected.
He has painted himself as a messiah to his followers; history has shown that it never ends well for the folks that fall for such a ruse.
That is why the Bible warns against false prophets: Trump is literally selling Bibles and an ideology full of false promises.
His supporters will cease to matter to him the moment he ascends to power but they are too blind to recognize it in this moment.
He left them in the Coachella Valley’s desert last weekend because he didn’t want to pay for busses.
An allegory if you ever needed one.
This is not to say that religion itself or Catholicism is bad - only to point out that like much of modern life, money and corruption have infiltrated the halls and cathedrals of power.
A step forward requires making amends for misdeeds and cover-ups.
It dictates judging leaders on their actions as well as their words.
We need to move forward, not backwards.
The future is ahead of us, let’s move in that direction together.
Vote Blue.
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