Pope offers prayers for Trump as he becomes president

Friday, Jan. 27, 2017

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis sent best wishes and prayers to incoming President Donald J. Trump shortly after he took the oath of office Jan. 20.

As President Donald Trump was being sworn in, Pope Francis said it would be “reckless” to pass judgment on the new president before he had a chance to do anything. “We must wait and see,” the pope said.

Asked if he wasn’t worried at least about some of the things Trump said before his election, the pope responded, “I’m waiting. God waited so long for me, with all my sins. Being afraid or rejoicing beforehand because of something that might happen is, in my view, quite reckless,” the pope said. “We will see. We will see what he does and then we will judge – always on the concrete. Christianity either is concrete or it is not Christianity.”

The pope’s message to Trump said, “I offer you my cordial good wishes and the assurance of my prayers that almighty God will grant you wisdom and strength in the exercise of your high office.” 

Saying that the human family faces “grave humanitarian crises” that demand “farsighted and united political responses,” the pope said he would pray that Trump’s decisions “will be guided by the rich spiritual and ethical values that have shaped the history of the American people and your nation’s commitment to the advancement of human dignity and freedom worldwide.” 

The pope also said he hoped that America’s “stature” continued to be measured by “above all its concern for the poor, the outcast and those in need who, like Lazarus, stand before our door.” The message concluded with the pope saying he would ask God to grant the new president, his family and all Americans “peace, concord and every material and spiritual prosperity.”