God made me do it

While the aim of Pope Francis’ pilgrimage to Iraq, promoting religious understanding of marginalized Christians there was laudable, his timing was not. His trip was a 4 day superspreader event with maskless thousands packed together to hear God’s Catholic emissary.

Francis said the pandemic weighed heavily on him while considering the trip. He prayed deeply and concluded God would keep he Iraqis safe. That’s easy for Francis to say…he’s been inoculated.

It’s too soon to know how many Iraqis will get sick and die because of the Pope’s ill-timed trip. Explaining a foolish action, people often joke, “The devil made me do it”. But the Pope is not joking. “God made me do it”.