Catholics around the country are applauding the decision by fellow Catholic Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar to boycott the Pope during his coming visit.
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Gosar told constituents, “I have made the difficult decision to boycott the Pope’s address to Congress next Thursday after numerous media outlets reported His Holiness would be spending much of his address supporting climate change policies instead of using this opportunity to advocate for religious tolerance and the sanctity of life. As an elected Representative, and as a practicing Catholic, I have both a moral obligation and leadership responsibility to call out leaders, regardless of their titles, who ignore the ongoing Christian persecution in the Middle East as well as the abortion epidemic in the United States.”
Gosar first announced his decision in an op-ed in Townhall.com. Gosar wrote, “If the Pope stuck to standard Christian theology, I would be the first in line. If the Pope spoke out with moral authority against violent Islam, I would be there cheering him on. If the Pope urged the Western nations to rescue persecuted Christians in the Middle East, I would back him wholeheartedly. But when the Pope chooses to act and talk like a leftist politician, then he can expect to be treated like one.”
For years Catholics on the right have stood by the Church, while those on the left walked away from it because it did not support their political beliefs. Many on the right say that Gosar spoke for them when he concluded, “If the Pope wants to devote his life to fighting climate change then he can do so in his personal time. But to promote questionable science as Catholic dogma is ridiculous.”