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The World Needs a Modern John Paul II

Is America of 2025 at an inflection point similar to that of 1980? It certainly seems so. In words usually attributed to Mark Twain, history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes. Even the characters rhyme.

One such character is Donald Trump, who returns to the White House at a seemingly critical juncture in American cultural and political life. His election is redolent of Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980, having assumed the presidency following the disastrous administration of the feckless Jimmy Carter. Who better represents Jimmy Carter in the present age than Joe Biden? That may explain the two men’s great fondness for one another.

Donald Trump embodies a mindset and political vision of a reinvigorated America, just as Ronald Reagan did, when he spoke passionately of America as a shining city on a hill, with a flag emblazoned with bold, bright colors, not pale pastels. And just like Reagan, Trump is an aggressive, business-oriented proponent of a can-do American spirit who believes our country’s best days lie ahead of it.

Now we need a man to lead the Roman Catholic Church who embodies the spirit and vigor of John Paul II, to replace the proto-Communist presently inhabiting the Vatican, and to partner with Donald Trump in transforming the world for the better.

In an excellent essay at New American titled “Is the Pope a Communist?”, writer William F. Jasper makes a compelling case that Pope Francis is indeed a Communist. In fact, he appears to embrace every socialist and Communist dictator and policy throughout the world, while simultaneously trashing conservative-minded leaders and policies wherever he sees them.

Past pontiffs have recognized the intrinsically evil nature of socialism and its purified and “advanced” iteration, Communism, and have robustly denounced it. Indeed, Pope John Paul II was instrumental in bringing about the collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union, working in tandem with his ideological soulmates, Ronald Reagan and UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Fast forward 45 years and the Church is led by a prelate who was marinated in, and seemingly embraced, Liberation theology in his native Argentina. Liberation theology is a quasi-communist, pseudo-religious school of thought that essentially rejects the tenets of capitalism. Its history is described well in a sympathetic article in the Aeon newsletter titled “Prosperity versus Liberation,” which also explores the embrace by much of Latin America of Pentecostalism.

Top Romanian intelligence officer and defector, Ion Mihai Pacepa, said in his very interesting book, Disinformation, that Liberation Theology was concocted by the Soviet KGB for the express purpose of undermining capitalism and American interests generally in Latin America and to propagate Communist movements on that continent. It was a typically ingenious Soviet strategy, co-opting as it did a powerful institution in Latin America—the Church—to advance its pernicious secular aims, just as the USSR fostered the anti-nuclear weapons youth movement in Europe in the 1980s in order to further its goals of stopping the US and its allies from advancing their nuclear capabilities at the expense of a relatively weak and collapsing USSR.

So who might replace the rapidly diminishing Pope Francis, age 88, to lead the Catholic flock and serve as Pope (now Saint) John Paul II’s ideological successor?

Several candidates come to mind. Cardinal Raymond Burke, who formerly led the Archdiocese of St. Louis, possesses brilliance, boldness, and the requisite conservative values. He has not been afraid to clash with Pope Francis when he thought it proper. Although he retired in 2023, that would not preclude his election as Pope. Unfortunately, at age 76, he is perhaps a bit older than the ideal candidate. John Paul II was 58 when elected pontiff in 1978, after all.

Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea is another fine, outspoken church leader who embraces the values of John Paul II. Africa has been one of the most dynamic regions of growth for the Church in recent decades, and Cardinal Sarah served as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 2014 to 2021. He also served as secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples under Pope John Paul II and president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum under Pope Benedict XVI. His outspokenness on the issues of traditional Catholic teachings regarding sexual morality and the right to life, as well as his denunciation of Islamic radicalism, speak to his ability to take up the mantle of JPII. However, at age 80, his papacy would likely be short-lived.

Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller of Germany, who served as Cardinal-Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 until 2017 and was elevated to cardinal by Pope Francis, is a highly regarded conservative. A learned man, Müller authored more than 400 works on a variety of topics, including revelation, the priesthood, the diaconate, and others. He is 77 years old.

Unfortunately, of the 131 cardinals of the Church under the age of 80, 96 were chosen by Francis, with the remaining chosen by John Paul II and Pope Benedict.

A bold selection might be Joseph Strickland, formerly Bishop of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, from 2012 until his removal by Pope Francis in 2023, due to his vocal criticisms of the pontiff. Although the Vatican asserted that his removal related to “governance and leadership” issues, these issues apparently only came to the attention of the Vatican after Strickland became very vocal about governance and leadership issues surrounding Pope Francis. Strickland was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI. At age 66, Bishop Strickland possesses relative youth and his conservative values would mesh well with those of President Trump.

My own preference for future pontiff at this point would be Cardinal Burke. Although his papacy might not be decades in length, it should serve long enough for him to right the policies and direction of the Church, which have been so badly deformed by Francis. Moreover, Burke could make enough appointments to the College of Cardinals of like-minded clerics as to right the imbalance from the appointments made by Francis and restore the Church to its traditional moorings.

We are in need of a new triumvirate of global leaders akin to that represented by Reagan, Thatcher, and John Paul II. Donald Trump is a good start. Perhaps Britain can find its new Thatcher and the Church its new John Paul II.

***

William F. Marshall has been an intelligence analyst and investigator in the government, private, and nonprofit sectors for more than 35 years. He is a senior investigator for Judicial Watch, Inc., and has been a contributor to Townhall, American Thinker, Epoch Times, The Federalist, American Greatness, and other publications. (The views expressed are the author’s alone and not necessarily those of Judicial Watch.)

 

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