The thing is...or it least should be, one can't be prosecuted if they've done nothing wrong, or you would think...
Pope Leo XIV’s words after Charlie Kirk’s assassination were diplomatic: through the United States Ambassador to the Holy See, he offered prayers for the family, sorrow over political violence, and a warning against rhetoric that deepens polarization.
That register satisfied Rome’s playbook — and left parts of MAGA cold.
One of the sharpest critiques came from conservative commentator Damian Thompson, who called the Vatican’s reaction “grossly inadequate,” singling out Cardinal Parolin.
The grievance is straightforward: in a moment, MAGA leaders framed as ideological terrorism, they wanted moral thunder, not measured balm.
Context matters.
From day one of Leo’s pontificate, MAGA figures questioned his instincts, pointing to past social posts and interviews they read as “liberal” on immigration and race.
Charlie Kirk himself set that expectation the day Leo was elected, saying he hoped the new pope would be “strong on borders and for sovereignty,” and later knocking Leo’s past George Floyd–related retweets as propaganda.
He even suggested that the cardinals elected an American pope to offer an “open border leader” to contrast Donald Trump.
Those markers became the lens through which the right judged Leo’s statement after Kirk’s killing: if the pope’s priors skew toward reconciliation and migrants’ dignity, he’ll never sound like them on culture war flashpoints.
The Vatican, for its part, did speak — formally and fast by Holy See standards — confirming Leo was praying for Kirk’s widow and children and decrying political violence. Mainstream wires and Catholic outlets carried that line.
But for MAGA commentators, the content (condolences and a call to lower the temperature) read like equivocation, not clarity.
They wanted explicit attribution of ideological blame and a tougher register about domestic extremism — the kind of language Trump-aligned officials used as they mobilized a broader crackdown on those who mocked or minimized Kirk’s death.
Against that backdrop, Leo’s pastoral tone sounded to critics like a refusal to name the enemy.
Some are especially angry that Leo hasn’t addressed the issue directly, instead relying on American officials and the Vatican spokesperson.
If Pope Leo continues emphasizing reconciliation and de-escalation while MAGA leaders escalate their rhetorical and policy response to Kirk’s murder, expect the gap to widen: Rome will keep playing level-headed priest; MAGA will keep demanding a combatant.
And smart people don’t like him (the only thing he ever said that I agree with)Also...
""We've got a lot of stupid people in this country running things." - Donald J. Trump
...that is one thing we can probably all agree with.
Given the old-worldness of the demonization of autism here, it probably won't be long until Trump/MAGA demonizes southpaws and forces left-handed people to write with their right hand.Gotta wonder what the owners of Tylenol did to tick him off. Refuse to pay kickbacks?
I bet most of you haven't heard of this on the news.
It's pretty hilarious that they refused to issue a VISA to Palestinian Authority president Abbas on 'national security grounds', yet are welcoming a guy who they still have a 10million bounty on.I'm pretty sure anybody paying attention to the news in even the smallest way was aware that this guy became the President of Syria in December/January when his forces toppled Assad's government. It was quite controversial at the time whether Western governments would recognize him, but they all decided the best path forward was to re-establish ties and treat him as the legitimate leader (not de facto leader) of Syria. So he's at the United Nations.




