For the most overtly Christian administration since George W. Bush’s, the second Trump administration is off to a very bad start when it comes to respect for Christian clergy, at least when they aren’t leading cheers for the 47th president and his agenda. After her sermon at the national prayer service shortly after the inauguration, Donald Trump went medieval on Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, for having the temerity to beg him to have mercy for those who fear his policies. Now J.D. Vance is openly feuding with the hierarchy of his own Roman Catholic Church for its hostility to Team Trump’s mass-deportation plans.

Catholic advocacy for immigrants is a long-standing commitment, particularly in the United States, where a significant percentage of immigrants dating back to the Irish famine have been Catholics. It’s one issue (unlike many others) on which traditionalists and modernizers in the Church are in agreement, which has led to a lot of friction recently with right-wing political movements in Europe and the U.S. On the very eve of Trump’s inauguration, Pope Francis, who has never been much of a MAGA fan, called Trump’s mass-deportation plan “disgraceful” because “it makes the poor........

© Daily Intelligencer