The Pope, a religious leader whose influence on the world has remained strong for centuries, has just been upstaged by the GOP. American Christians are now calling for the Pope’s resignation, as they claim he has become “woke”.

Now, how did this all begin? It started when Pope Francis criticized the “backwardness” of American Christians, saying that they have replaced their faith with ideology, and that the correct understanding of the Catholic doctrine allows for change over time. American Christians have, in return, criticized the Pope’s emphasis on social issues such as the environment and the less-fortunate, as well as branding him heretical for allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive sacraments. 

A big factor in Pope Francis’ argument is the surge in Trumpism. This populist ideology has spread like a wildfire throughout the Republican Party. At the center of it is former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is the founder and chief candidate of the ideology. Many republicans that follow Trump are bordering on fanatical, even going as far as cutting off friends and family members because of political disagreements. There are even calls for state secession (A la Marjorie Taylor Greene) if Trump is detained, or if he loses the 2024 Presidential election.

So, in a sense, Pope Francis is correct. Many Christians (who happen to be overwhelmingly republican) have seemingly replaced their faith and the teachings of their religion with ideology and the teachings of Trump. It really shows how fanatical some of these people are to call for the resignation of the Pope because he said something that was critical of their faith-replacing, fanatical ideology.