Apparently this Administration is also rewriting the four Gospels of Christianity. Even for this writer, the sheer bluster of this hubris leaves me nearly, but not quite, speechless. Usually such exploitive hypocrisy hides behind selective silences and knowing glances but with this vice president, all that is required is to simply revise what is universally known across the globe as the Greatest Commandment (Love God with your whole heart . . .and love your neighbor as yourself) to fit his version of his politics. Not even his Pope agrees with his slipshod revision. There is a name for misrepresenting the teachings of this tradition but I will gladly leave it to the Catholic hierarchy to sort that out.

Good in this case is actually soon to be at hand. Your participation in a church community could actually come into play. I know of very few religious traditions that don’t call out some obligation of care for the sick, poor, vulnerable, children and elders. I can only speak for the Christian tradition when I remind Christians, despite what your present leaders may say, that the obligation for charity to “neighbors” not limited to nation, tribe, race, class, or gender. Some people call it radical love, but it in times like this, all authentic love will appear radical. Don’t allow your church community to slide by this humanitarian crisis with obscure disconnected quotes taken out of context from a deep history probably misunderstood. Your church community is where you live so you can practice there on the face-to-face confrontations necessary in a time like this. The Institutional churches may be looking at some hard choices. I believe that is why the teacher Jesus called it ‘the narrow gate’.