5-9-25 Willie with Michael McDonald

was elevated from his status as a cardinal. He was only became a cardinal a couple of years years ago, and so many are a commenting whether or not he will be shall we say in the vein of Francis the First, or will he be in the vein of his two predecessors? Will he be a liberal or will he be a conservative? I would note that there is some information available that he was a registered Republican at one point, and he also was a White Sox fan,

despite the protestations of the contrary. And there are some conservative commentators like or Loomer, she's branding our new pope already as woke and a Marxist which is a blasphemy in my viewpoint. But the man who set the record straight is Michael McDonald the Catholic League of New York City and Michael McDonald, welcome again to the Bill Cunningham Show. And first of all, Mike, let's talk about what happened yesterday about twelve fifteen, twelve twenty in the afternoon Eastern time.

Described the level of shock that you felt when the Cardinals picked an American pope.

definitely not in any one's top five lists. And I mean, I guess we do live in the age of Donald Trump. I guess the Vatican worried about getting the tariff, so they bought American I don't know, but this is this is a you know, a tremendous earthquake and and a good thing, and a good thing like this is very exciting. Uh.

The American Church is very strong, very vibrant. H you know, you go to particularly these churches that offer the Latin Mass that are much more closer to the tradition of what the church is always taught and always believed in, and they're very vibrant that there's young families with kids. I mean the church my wife and I go to with our our kid is like that. There's a lot

of young kids there. You know, you're not seeing so many of the gray haired types you're see in some of these more like boomer churches that just sort of do let's feel good. So this is a good moment for that. Well, we'll have to see how he governs. You know, there's a lot of question marks on that, but this is his first day on the chop that there are signs that people that are hoping for more

of a return tradition could be excited about. And then there's other things that might cause a little bit of heartburn. But we'll just have to see. Let's get him the benefit of the doubt. He hasn't I mean, just been on the job for twenty four hours, So let's see what he can do.

spent like twenty years as a missionary in Peru. I completely lost touch with him. And then he's plucked down and may use the term obscurity by a pontiff to come eventually worked his way up from the bottom of Rome to picking the archbishops all around the world. And I would think from that circumstance, I don't know what the title was, but he was the guy advising the Pope Francis who to make an archbishop, including the new

one we have here in Cincinnati from Chicago. And I would think he was uniquely qualified, but for the fact he was born in America and he was called the least American of the cardinal the cardinals, of all the cardinals here? Was that an insult or accomplishment?

the old pope to lambassed him. But some of his moral teachings were a little lacking in clarity, to be to be nice about it, he he kind of wondered sometimes about the people around him, if they if their hearts were in the right place. And yeah, uh, hopefully the fourteenth has a great story to tell. Uh. You know, he felt really called to do missionary work. He joined the Augustinians, which traces their lineage back to Saint Augustine back in antiquity. Uh. So this is an established order.

The most are a lot smaller than they used to be. I mean probably the last big member that they had the people would be familiar with Martin Luther and we know how that turned out. But in terms of pop Leo the fourteenth himself as Cardinal Privos, he went down to Lima Dance Brew. He did a lot of missionary work in there, in remote villages up in the Andes. Uh. And you know, there's there's something nice to see, especially as a Catholic is someone that's deeply in love with

their faith. I mean, yesterday he just stopped and said to Hail Mary, which is a good sign for traditionalists, a strong Marriyan devotions, something that you want to keep an eye out for. Uh. And So just in terms of love for the Church, love for Christ, he seems to be starting off on the right foot on that and sending a very strong message that that's going to

be the center of his pontificate. And if you look at his first homily today, very strong on that issue as well, in which he's talking about the world needs to uh, the world needs the church really to bear witness to Christ. Christ is the son of God who came to earth to die and save us from sin. Not just this nice guy that said nice things and gave out little platitudes and had some fun sayings, but actually the pathway to salvation. And so I think there's a lot to be optimistic about.

hardly an expression of socialism. He's also spoke about immigration in ways that gives a lot of comfort to shall I say, liberals, how do you explain him going after JD. Vance in a sense a couple months ago in what which the Cardinals said on X that quote JD Vance is wrong. Jesus does not ask us to rank our love for others quote unquote. Now, liberals thought, Okay, that's good, he's going after JD.

could justify. Okay, he pulled the rosary out of his pockets every once in a while, but couldn't I couldn't do anything, uh in scept with the actual teachings of the Catholic Church. So you know, it's nice to have actually, uh a person like JD. Vance uh as a Catholic to actually get up there and so actually the Catholic Church has these notions. They're ancient, but you know, we

should practice him. And that's that's very refreshing to have somebody in public life that actually takes their faith seriously, uh and can speak to it with a high degree of authority. He just looked at the JD. Vance and he sounds like he knows what he's talking about because

he does. Uh. That's that's that's a huge thing to have, particularly for lay people like, oh, look, here's somebody that isn't a priest that out there putting his faith into action, living it at daily and making that the backbone of

his public policy. That's a great thing to see. And I would hope I would hope that you know, now that maybe the political climate has changed in Rome, we can look at these things a little bit more clearly, and so actually that would be a benefit to the church and people that are not ordained that are able to live out their faith and expressive faith, and maybe that brings more people to the faith, or at least inspire the people that are already in the faith to actively live out their faith.

Republican in Illinois. In Chicago. He pulled the Republican lever in twenty twelve, twenty fourteen, twenty sixteen, apparently did not vote in the twenty sixteen but chose to vote by absentee in twenty twenty four It appears he's more of a Bush Republican than a Trump Republican. But he's certainly not woke or a Marxist activist, and so each side is pulling him. And I would imagine living in Italy,

which is socialist, in Europe, extremely socialist. The poll is the gravitational poll is going to be to the left as opposed to the right. But the Christ is neither Democrat nor Republican, liberal nor conservative, left nor right, not blue nor red. He cares for all people all the time, and salvation is at the heart of what the Christ has preached, and so would. I would anticipate that. Can you imagine what happens in a year or two when

he has stadium tours inside this country. What's going to happen.

I think again, depending on, as we were talking about before, how closely he works in the tradition, and there are some things that do speak to him being a little bit more traditional. There's something speaking tom be a little bit more on the reformist side of the equation. But depending on how he plays that into Israela, let's see

how that plays out. I think if you see somebody that is willing to let traditional Catholics express their love for Jesus the way that they have for centuries from millennia, I think then you see a massive outpouring of love and appreciation for the Pope, and you'll see a big outpouring. But again, you know I've been wrong before. I could be wrong again. Yes, and other stuff, but that's what I would like to see anyway. Maybe it's a wish guest thing.

be amazing. But one great sentence or two you having your Catholic League column today, quote if some progressives who wanted Francis or a second are not expressing this main public, don't be fooled, is because they want to have entraded to the new pope. The left exists for one thing, power and they are masters are deceiving people that looks like practicing Roman Catholics today. Well, having Pope Leo the

fourteenth someone they can rally around. And so those are your last comments, and I'm thinking, well, we'll see what happens in the future. But if this Pope stays firm, on life issues. If we can all agree that there's difficulties and pregnancies all the time, but can we at least agree that a healthy baby inside the body of a healthy mother should be born and the rest of it can be dealt with through special legislation or adoption,

whatever it might be. And if he switches and allow women to become priest or or priest to marry, which wouldn't be as radical, then we're going to have issues. You don't see him breaking with tradition, do you, and having women become priest or somehow supporting abortion on demand. You don't see that happening. If that would happen, the Catholic Church would crumble.

a good sign on that front. And in terms of his American politics, you know, as far as you can map any sort of prelate of the Catholic Church into America, in politics, he has been very much on the pro life side of just about every single vote primary all these things, and he's spoken very forcefully in defensive life and just real quick bill fun little fact. Yes, on the US Supreme Court, you don't tend to see a

lot of people moving from left to right. But interestingly enough, Pope Leo the thirteenth back in the eighteen hundreds was elected because the cardinals thought that Popious the ninth was too conservative. Let's get somebody in there that's a little bit more liberal minded. And he actually went even further to the right on a lot of issues than pop Pious and nine. So this does happen in the particularly

in the church. Actually, Popious the ninth another one, was viewed as a liberal and then became much more conservative when he became pope. And Benedict the sixteenth another one. Some of his writings were not like super hardcore tread Catholic, but then when he became pope, he's like, you don't want to I'm bringing back the Latin mass. So just because we have a body of work, that doesn't necessarily mean that's how he's going to govern.

the next twenty years bring. And Michael, for the first time in my life, we have a pope that's younger than me. So that's that's remarkable. My sister died Rett. And because popes are old, and I'm thinking, well, hell, maybe i'm old. I'm not sure. You know, I'm seventy seven, but hell I feel like thirty seven most of the time. But nonetheless, I got a pope younger than me, so I know I'm getting old. But Michael McDonald Catholic League dot org is the website, great stuff. And once again,

God bless Leo the fourteenth. He's got Pete Rose's number fourteen. There's that number again, fourteen, and that's another good sign. But we'll see what happens the next twenty years and Michael McDonald, Catholic League, thanks again for coming on the Bill Cunningham Show this Friday afternoon.