In a surprising move, former president and current presidential candidate Donald J. Trump posted on social media a photo of Our Lady of Guadalupe with the message "Happy Birthday Mary." This prompted X (formerly Twitter) to trend the keywords Our Lady of Guadalupe for the entire day. On September 8th, the Catholic Church celebrates the Nativity of Mary or the Birth of Mary.
The date is calculated from December 8, when the Church celebrates the Immaculate Conception. The months between both days total 9 months, the gestation period of human offspring before birth. The post has excited some Catholics, who believe that the former president is eyeing a possible conversion to Catholicism. His wife, Melania, is a Catholic.
However, the former president is a non-practicing Presbyterian. He is popular with Evangelica Protestants as well.
However, others see this as a political move to capture the Catholic vote. A recent EWTN poll found that most Catholics will be voting for Vice President Kamala Harris, especially Hispanic Catholics. Moreover, the former President's shift on abortion and his endorsement of IVF have angered orthodox Catholics who adhere to the Church's teaching that abortion can never be justified and that IVF is unethical. They favored him over President Biden but now many of them are lost regarding who to vote for. Trump is now nearly identical to Harris with abortion and other issues.
It is a difficult choice now. Trump prided himself on being the "most pro-life president" but he is anything but that now due to his shift in policy. He is not pro-life. It seems he knows he made a huge mistake alienating Catholics and is now trying to woo them by using Our Lady. Former President Trump has been criticized in the past for using the Bible as a prop and for not taking Christian views and values seriously.
It is highly unlikely that Trump is seeking to convert to Catholicism. Even if he did, he would most likely not submit to all of the teachings of the faith, especially on marriage, contraception, abortion, and other ethical issues. If the posts he posted of Our Lady of Guadalupe on her birth are a political stunt, this is offensive and disrespectful to Catholics. Our Lady is NOT a political prop.
Happy Birthday Mary! pic.twitter.com/d1nwHWTk2b
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 9, 2024
Source:
Harris leads Trump among Catholic voters, per EWTN News/RealClear poll | Catholic News Agency
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for reading and for your comment. All comments are subject to approval. They must be free of vulgarity, ad hominem and must be relevant to the blog posting subject matter.