The situation is incredible, bordering on paradoxical, perhaps even ridiculous: in the midst of secularization, while individuals in their private lives do not care in the least about the dictates of religion and everyone behaves according to the only Gospel he recognizes, that is, his own selfish desire, references to religion in world politics multiply and become fundamental points of communication.

I say "communication" by which I mean the workshop of consensus, that is, the real engine of contemporary politics, which is increasingly similar to a company governed by the logic of marketing, that is, of what buyers want, and not by the logic of the product, that is, of what it is deontologically right to produce.

It is precisely there, in communication, that religion exhibits an unexpected geopolitical force these days. At times it almost seems as if we have returned to pre-modernism, when secularism did not exist and everything was religiously determined. This is why the controversy between the President of the United States and the Roman Pontiff takes on an importance that goes beyond the simple news.

We know everything about Trump. It is the quintessence of contemporary pathology: narcissism. He is the living icon of the new divinity, that is, the "Deus" (God in Latin) to whom the "D" fell and transformed into the I. Be careful: modernity had emancipated itself from the prison of traditional religiosity exactly in the name of the ego with the Cartesian cogito that stands out in the unforgettable "Discourse on Method" of 1637, written in Latin: "Cogito, ergo sum," and before that in French: "Je pense, donc je suis". And it was also the rights of the ego that gave birth to the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen" of 1789 that crowned the French Revolution, as well as Kant's luminous philosophy that makes the emancipation of conscience the seal of the coming of age reached by the human race.  

And it was always the rights of the ego that marked the campaign for civil rights that marked the best history of the twentieth century starting with the "Declaration of Human Rights" approved by the UN on December 10, 1948. No regrets, therefore, for the pre-modern era with that "D" that often mortified the ego and its freedom.

But something went wrong. The ego without the D, which should have finally arrived at true democracy and consequently at true justice, has gradually forgotten the completeness of the revolutionary triad "Liberté, egalité, fraternité," to affirm instead only a voracious and supremely selfish freedom that has systematically devoured equality and fraternity. This is, in its deepest essence, contemporary capitalism with an American imprint: an arbitrary freedom that wants to dominate and exploit others, far from fraternité!

And exactly this is what Donald Trump best personifies.

For this reason they voted for him, not only the first, but also the second time: because they would like to be like him, because he is the prophet, perhaps even the messiah who will establish the world that everyone wants, Maga: "Make America Great Again."

Therefore, it is not only politics that is at stake, there is also religion, meaning by religion what speaks to the deepest soul of a human being, that is, the irrational dimension that concerns passion, love, hate, fear, desire, vitality. For this reason, Trump has established an "Office of Faith" in the White House, he is surrounded by fervent churchmen and women who pray for him and around him, and he even has himself depicted in the role of Jesus. And it is also for this reason that it is inevitable that he will argue with the Pope, to the extent that the Pope does not in turn join the ranks of ecclesiastics in adoration.

Pope Leo, in fact, far from pandering to him, pronounced unequivocal words that could not fail to irritate the American President, warning him to put a stop to that delirium of omnipotence that around us is becoming more and more unpredictable and aggressive. The Pope did not name names, but who does not immediately think of Trump?

In reality, there are other politicians who clearly exhibit an increasingly aggressive delusion of omnipotence, I am referring to the head of the Israeli government Netanyahu and his ministers, in particular the couple of religious extremists Ben Gvir and Smotrich. Pope Leo must continue along the same line of firmness and also remind the government of Israel that "the holy Name of God, the God of life, is not dragged into the discourses of death. And with him and even more than him should do the religious exponents of Italian Judaism, who instead remain silent and silently approve of the racist and predatory policy implemented by the current government of Israel. They have not much to do with the courage of Jewish prophecy that always knew how to oppose political power when it was necessary to do so, starting with the prophet Nathan against King David, from Elijah against Ahab, from Isaiah against Ahaz.

But if religion has a meaning, it is exactly what is recalled by these words of the prophet Micah, also an exponent of the holy Israel that I love: "Man, you have been taught what is good and what the Lord requires of you: to practice justice, to love godliness, to walk humbly with your God." Three things then: justice, piety, humility. That is, the exact opposite of Trump and Netanyahu's policy. This is what Pope Leo is trying, with his meekness, to promote.

(https://www.vitomancuso.it - Courtesy of the author)

See, Vito Mancuso: Justice and Pietas trampled on, when God turns into "I"