The Role of the Faithful in the Trump Era

The Role of the Faithful in the Trump Era: Prophetic Prayer and Moral Resistance

More than eight hundred Christians wrote to President Trump before the National Prayer Breakfast yesterday with an urgent reminder rooted in orthodox Christian witness:

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The Hebrew prophets teach us that the powerful must constantly be reminded to protect the downtrodden, the widow, the migrant and the outcast. The Gospel is not about prosperity, but Good News for the poor. In them, we encounter Christ.... In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray for God’s will to be done on earth. Building this kingdom of justice and peace is our daily task. We pray that you use your office to unite, and turn away from your rhetoric and policy proposals that degrade human dignity. We pray that you remember refugees and immigrants have sacred worth in God’s eyes. We pray that you protect the gift of Creation—air, oceans, rivers, and climate that give and sustain life. We pray that you recognize affordable health care is a human right, not a privilege. We pray that you respect our Muslim brothers and sisters, who should never be targeted or stereotyped because of an extreme few who pervert a peaceful religion.

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Faith in Public Life Catholic Director, John Gehring, captured the spirit of the letter in his article published yesterday in Commonweal Magazine. To read the article in it’s entirety please visit https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/prophetic-prayer-moral-resistance