Celebrity Apprentice

Is a person whose behavior's above reproach engaging in a clandestine form of mudslinging? If there is no spiritual summit that is reached by any human, can we agree with Ruben Rufino Dri, an emeritus professor of the sociology of religion at the University of Buenos Aires who regarded Pope Francis' actions as just one more example of power politics. In an article entitled, “A Humble Pope, Challenging the World,” 9/18/15), the Times quoted Dri thusly, “Francis is a great showman. His repositioning of the church is paternalistic. It is not a strategy for empowering its followers. This is by no means a revolution.” It’s easy to compare the culture of backstabbing amongst say Republican presidential candidates invidiously to the behavior of a pope who talks continually of peace and reconciliation.  But don’t all roads, in the end, lead to Mecca? Is Pope Francis' behavior really just a different means to a similar end, ie prosperity and peace? And is there not something suspicious about it in that it conceals an even darker objective which is the perpetuation and even growth of the power of the Catholic Church? The Vatican might be a country, but it has previously wielded relatively little influence on the world stage. Almost singlehandedly Pope Francis has made himself into a major player in international politics. Everyone, it seems, wants to talk to the Pope. The dirtiest and most underhanded thing Donald Trump could do is not to continue to criticize Carly Fiorina’s face, it would be to transform himself into a figure of peace and humility. With a little tutelage under Pope Francis, Donald Trump could amass the kind of power that would really make him a threat to both fellow Republican contenders and Democrats. Imagine Donald Trump as the Pope’s Celebrity Apprentice.