Travel Advisory

If I told you to imagine a situation in which a man from the United States were elected pope, you might think it would be natural and good for that pope to make an official visit to his home country as soon as possible. But what if I told you the scenario was taking place in a less hypothetical world, one where America’s president was waging war on multiple fronts, in flagrant defiance of international law, while also abusing, detaining, and denying basic rights to minority populations in his own country? What if you added to that president’s public profile a history of sexual assault, racist insults, and vulgar language? What if, days after the death of the previous pope, that president had joked about being his own “number-one choice” for the job and disseminated an image of himself dressed in papal vestments? In that case, would you expect the pope to prioritize a visit to his home country, or would you instead urge him to keep his distance?