Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life

Millions of Americans were as enthralled about the Pope’s visit to the United States as were my neighbor, Mikey and I. Politico led its coverage with the headline, “Media mania as Pope Francis makes his way to America,” a headline that depicted the innocent jubilance of even the most dour journalists.

Things have certainly changed over the past year. Unlike the papal visit, few people celebrated the rhetoric of the 2016 election, and even fewer Georgetown students flocked to the White House to celebrate democracy exhibited by the election. Although the United States political landscape has rapidly changed, the Pope’s message remains steadfast.

The American people, both the electorate and government, seem to have rejected many of these steadfast messages. Environmental stewardship does not seem to be a federal priority nor do the voices of the refugees from around the world. Yet the Pope warned us that “there is another temptation which we must especially guard against: the simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil.” In the United States, it seems to be easy to point fingers at the other side and question their intentions. 

Trust and empathy do not seem to have a place at the table. Over the next four years, policy disputes will continue, but government is not the only actionable body in our country. Local communities matter. Individuals matter. Therefore, the playbook needs to be empathy, just as Pope Francis embodies through his actions each day. As Pope Francis told a packed Congress, “Our response must instead be one of hope and healing, of peace and justice.”

Max Rosner (C'18) is an undergraduate studying government and theology at Georgetown.

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It is easy to see the gap between Pope Francis' call to action in front of Congress a year ago and the ways in which our politics has developed since. His call to unconditional hope, peace, and love collided with a political discourse of exclusive and non-competing accountability. Pope Francis situated his message on the virtue of being human. Popular sentiment in America, on the other hand, has anchored itself on the virtue of being an American. And as our nation negotiates a changing global order, our voters have demanded leaders they see as accountable to the American public interest, a nebulous concept defined different ways this campaign season.

Donald Trump convinced a huge swath of Americans that their political leaders had not been accountable to them. He promised a wall and railed against sanctuary cities as part of a platform that promised to cater to American public interests rather than the interests of immigrants, foreign countries, special-interest lobbies, or a political establishment.

This American-accountability phenomenon was not unique to the populist right. Bernie Sanders captured a huge following by preaching a similar message and railing against a “political class” that had abandoned the American public. Sanders’ staunch anti-trade rhetoric attests to his message of public interest accountability. The underpinning of the message was the same as Trump’s—Sanders simply couched it in humane language and offered more compassionate policy proposals.

Decades ago, Reagan called for America to be the “shining city upon a hill.” In his farewell address, he told the story of Southeast Asian refugees picked up from a sinking raft in the Pacific, elated to see the American sailor they called the "freedom man." This compassionate, welcoming America that Reagan praised is the same one that Pope Francis called for. Unfortunately, as our country has grappled with its accountability problem, we've lost that virtue.

Mikey Bannon (SFS'18) is an undergraduate studying international economics at Georgetown.