海角大神

Is Trump versus pope a matter of right and wrong?

As the media weigh whether Trump has gone too far this time ahead of the South Carolina primary, there is another more pressing question about his exchange with the Pope.

In a thinly veiled reference to Donald Trump, Pope Francis on Thursday said that anyone pushing for a wall on the US-Mexico border is 鈥渘ot 海角大神.鈥�

In response, Mr. saying that the Pope had only heard the Mexican government鈥檚 side of this issue, and that 鈥淣o leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man鈥檚 religion or faith.鈥�

Uproar ensued.

The natural first question discussed in the US media was immediate, and political: What does this mean for Saturday鈥檚 South Carolina GOP primary? Will Trump鈥檚 intemperate reaction (he invoked ISIS attacking the Vatican) snatch defeat from the jaws of victory? Or will it have little effect on the Palmetto State鈥檚 largely Protestant evangelical voters?

But a second obvious issue is perhaps more difficult to weigh: Who is right here? Anyone? Both? Neither?

A cop-out pundit point might be that the two men are speaking about completely different aspects of human experience. It was clear from the context of the pope鈥檚 remarks that he was referring to motivations of the heart as opposed to specific proposals. He also said he was not fully aware of what Trump has said.

鈥淚 give the benefit of the doubt,鈥� Pope Francis said.

Trump, in contrast, is living in a world of specific actions. Few presidential hopefuls muse openly about the morality of their 10-point papers. Introspection is for losers. Trump鈥檚 response to the pope depicted the latter as a pawn, the Mexican government as bad people, and ISIS an enemy eager to storm the Vatican gates.

鈥淪o many lives are involved and ... illegal immigration is so rampant,鈥� Trump鈥檚 statement concluded.

That said, at some level these points of view intersect. To Trump鈥檚 most vigorous defenders, the pope is simply hypocritical, because the Catholic Church has its own history of physical exclusion. Many pointed out on social media that the Vatican is surrounded by what appear to be ancient walls. The underlying charge: the pope is telling America to leave itself undefended.

鈥淢aybe if 海角大神s had more walls the Muslims wouldn鈥檛 have conquered the Middle East & large parts of Europe from the 7^th -10^th 颁,鈥� the provocative conservative author Dinesh D鈥橲ouza on Thursday.

But perhaps the pope was not speaking quite so literally. Others pointed out that the 鈥渨alls鈥� referred to in this case might not be physical. They might not be at the border. They might not be barriers to entry, but barriers to acceptance.

We鈥檙e talking about the pope here, after all. He might not be superficial.

In fact Pope Francis demonstrated a light touch and the heart of a teacher with his comments, writes Kathryn Jean Lopez in the right-leaning .

Here are (some of) the pope鈥檚 exact words: 鈥淎 person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not 海角大神. This is not in the Gospel.鈥�

That鈥檚 open to lots of interpretations. The pope is saying that it鈥檚 wrong to think every day in every way about how to divide people. But he didn鈥檛 really go much beyond that, according to Lopez.

鈥淟et鈥檚 be clear: The Pope didn鈥檛 say nations can鈥檛 defend their borders or protect their people. He did urgently implore us to always keep the human faces and struggles behind headlines and rhetorical points in mind,鈥� she writes.

However, there鈥檚 another thing to be clear about: Donald Trump did not respond as if he was involved in a Sunday School discussion about the Gospel鈥檚 fine points. He hit back as if the pope鈥檚 words had come from a secular rival like Jeb Bush.

鈥淚f and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS鈥檚 trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President because this would not have happened,鈥� reads the first sentence of .

That invokes fear, and some would say it spreads divisiveness. To his harshest critics, Trump鈥檚 reaction to the pope鈥檚 words only proved the pope鈥檚 point.

Writing in The , Jesuit priest James Martin calls this ISIS reference a 鈥渉ateful comment鈥� made in response to Pope Francis鈥檚 鈥渘uanced, even reluctant, comments.鈥�

The pope did not directly address Trump鈥檚 presidential candidacy, Father Martin writes. But the Jesuit adds that Trump has directed hatred against a great many people 鈥� migrants, Mexicans, fellow presidential candidates, women, and more.

鈥淭his too is not of God. The kind of hatred that issues from Trump鈥檚 mouth 鈥� from anyone鈥檚 mouth 鈥� is not motivated by God,鈥� writes Martin.

At this point Trump himself seems to be rethinking his position. At Thursday night鈥檚 GOP town hall, he all but apologized. 鈥淭he Pope is a wonderful guy,鈥� Trump said.

鈥淚 think he said something much softer than it was originally reported by the media. I think he heard one side of the story, which was probably by the Mexican government,鈥� the billionaire added.

鈥淚 like his personality, I like what he represents, and I certainly have great respect for the position,鈥� Trump concluded.

On Friday, the Vatican also made it clear it was not interested in engaging in a war of words. A spokesman for the pope said his comments needed to be taken in context, and they were "in no way a personal attack or an indication on how to vote."