Pope Francis Archives

God Save the Conclave

May 7, 2025 Buck Banks

The Sistine Chapel’s been sealed for the conclave.
If it’s anything like the movie, it’ll be a rave.
Of course, I have no hope
Of influencing the choice for Pope —
I’d pick the African, the drunk or the hermaphrodite. Who’s your fave?

Trump’s Chump Seats

April 25, 2025April 25, 2025 Buck Banks

It’s the Pope’s funeral, so Trump’s gotta go.
It wouldn’t be like him to miss such a show.
But when he arrives he might squall,
Because of arcane Vatican protocol
Trump might find himself seated in the back row.

Vance at the Vatican

April 22, 2025April 22, 2025 Buck Banks

JD Vance is a Catholic convert and mealy-mouthed acerbic dope.
He went to the Vatican on Easter to meet the pontiff, he hoped.
While the two differ on the concept of ordo amoris,
By Monday, we were posing one question, which is,
Did JD Vance somehow kill our favorite Argentinian Pope?

Pope Francis: Trump’s Deportation Plans a ‘Disgrace’

January 20, 2025 Buck Banks

“If it is true, it will be a disgrace, because it makes the poor wretches who have nothing to pay the unpaid bill. It won’t do. This is not the way to solve things.”

— Pope Francis criticized President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to deport immigrants as a “disgrace,” CNN reports.

Pope Francis: U.S. Conservatives Have a ‘Suicidal Attitude’

May 20, 2024 Buck Banks

“It is a suicidal attitude. Because one thing is to take tradition into account, to consider situations from the past, but quite another is to be closed up inside a dogmatic box.”

— Pope Francis, quoted by Axios, criticizing U.S. conservatives.

Pope Takes 12 Syrian Refugees to Vatican City

April 18, 2016 Buck Banks

12

Number of Syrian refugees Pope Francis brought to Vatican City, that country he runs, following a visit to Lesbos, Greece, “a waypoint for hundreds of thousands of refugees escaping violence across the Middle East.” The three Muslim families will now be in the care of the Vatican, according to the National Catholic Reporter.

Pope Francis: Trump Is Not a Christian

February 18, 2016 Buck Banks

A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.

— Pope Francis on Wednesday suggesting that Donald J. Trump ‘is not Christian’ because of the harshness of his campaign promises to deport more immigrants and force Mexico to pay for a wall along the border,” the New York Times reports.

Trump Comes inThird on Gallup’s ‘Most Admired’ Men List

December 29, 2015 Buck Banks

3rd

Where Donald Trump placed on Gallup’s “Most Admired” poll, after Barack Obama (1st) and Pope Francis (2nd). Hillary Clinton placed first on the Most Admired Women for the 20th time in a row.

Pope Endorses Anti-Gay Bigot, Ends U.S. Visit on Sour Note

October 1, 2015October 1, 2015 Jon Ponder

New pope, same as the old pope.

[…]

Pope Francis Is a Democrat!

May 26, 2015 Buck Banks

Catholic Republicans are developing a pope problem. Earlier this month, Francis recognized Palestinian statehood. This summer, he’s going to issue an encyclical condemning environmental degradation. And in September, just as the GOP primary race heats up, Francis will travel to Washington to address Congress on climate change. … Francis may be popular with the general public, but key Republican primary constituencies — hawks, climate-change skeptics and religious conservatives, including some Catholics, are wary of the pope’s progressivism.

“If it is true, it will be a disgrace, because it makes the poor wretches who have nothing to pay the unpaid bill. It won’t do. This is not the way to solve things.”

— Pope Francis criticized President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to deport immigrants as a “disgrace,” CNN reports.

“It is a suicidal attitude. Because one thing is to take tradition into account, to consider situations from the past, but quite another is to be closed up inside a dogmatic box.”

— Pope Francis, quoted by Axios, criticizing U.S. conservatives.

12

A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.

— Pope Francis on Wednesday suggesting that Donald J. Trump ‘is not Christian’ because of the harshness of his campaign promises to deport more immigrants and force Mexico to pay for a wall along the border,” the New York Times reports.

3rd

Where Donald Trump placed on Gallup’s “Most Admired” poll, after Barack Obama (1st) and Pope Francis (2nd). Hillary Clinton placed first on the Most Admired Women for the 20th time in a row.

New pope, same as the old pope.

— Politico

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“The Trump Administration is drowning in corruption — and few Americans seem to care. It’s another sign of a dying Republic.”

— Professor Larry Sabato, quoted by Blue Virginia.

— Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha, quoted by Politico.

“I think we essentially have become a kleptocracy that would make Putin blush. I mean, keep in mind that in the first three months, the Trump family has become $3 billion wealthier, so that’s a billion dollars a month.”

— Business school professor Scott Galloway, quoted by the New Republic.

“Every day is a kind of Watergate at this point.”

— The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg, speaking at a journalism summit.

— New York Times

Numerati

10.3 million

Politico: “The Medicaid portions of the GOP megabill would lead to 10.3 million people losing coverage under the health safety net program and 7.6 million people going uninsured, according to estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.”

$21 million

$1 million

$1,000

“The Trump administration says it is going to pay immigrants in the United States illegally who’ve returned to their home country voluntarily $1,000 as it pushes forward with its mass deportation agenda,” the AP reports.

57th

The new World Press Freedom Index finds the U.S. has fallen to 57th out of 180 countries when it comes to overall freedom of the press.