--- title: Pope Poo-pooed by GOP for Being too Jesus-like description: This article originally appeared on Patheos. I can’t think of a Pope who has made a bigger impact, brought more hope and sounded more like... canonical: https://time.com/3071054/pope-poo-pooed-by-gop-for-being-too-jesus-like/ author: TIME article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-01T18:29:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:43:07.270Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Pope poo-pooed by GOP for being too Jesus-like og:description: A religious leader addressing the morally repugnant behavior of economic and political systems that value the powerful over the poor? og:url: https://time.com/3071054/pope-poo-pooed-by-gop-for-being-too-jesus-like/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd8228f5fc39fb73/69869e27f983e75c6d04f14b/451742730.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2325 og:image:height: 1308 og:image:alt: Pope Francis Visits Molise og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Pope poo-pooed by GOP for being too Jesus-like twitter:description: A religious leader addressing the morally repugnant behavior of economic and political systems that value the powerful over the poor? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd8228f5fc39fb73/69869e27f983e75c6d04f14b/451742730.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Pope Poo-pooed by GOP for Being too Jesus-like > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=676f42f7-2a10-44ad-a3e5-f4bd9a8e506c&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Patheos](https://time.com/author/patheos/) ## Patheos Contributor Aug 1, 2014 6:29 PM UTC  Pope Francis attends an outdoor papal mass on July 5, 2014 in Campobasso, Italy. Pope Francis attends an outdoor papal mass on July 5, 2014 in Campobasso, Italy. Franco Origlia—Getty Images by [Patheos](https://time.com/author/patheos/) ## Patheos Contributor Aug 1, 2014 6:29 PM UTC  _This article_ [_originally appeared_](http://www.patheos.com/blogs/thegodarticle/2014/07/pope-being-poo-pooed-by-gop-for-being-too-much-like-jesus/) _on_ [_Patheos_](http://www.patheos.com/)_._ I can’t think of a Pope who has made a bigger impact, brought more hope and sounded more like Jesus than Pope Francis. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan. I even Facebook-lifted a hashtag I saw on [Diana Butler Bass’](http://www.dianabutlerbass.com/) page that I use all the time now: #popecrush. And now he’s coming to the United States! The first Pope from the Americas is coming to the U.S. This is very exciting. So exciting, in fact, that a bi-partisan resolution has been presented to Congress that would [congratulate the pontiff](https://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-resolution/440/text) on being the first Pope from the Americas and for his “inspirational statements and actions.” #Popecrush on! Unfortunately, it’s beginning to look like this particular resolution may never make it out of committee. It was [sent to the House Foreign Affairs Committee](http://thehill.com/homenews/house/213588-will-speaker-move-bill-on-the-pope) and seems to have died there. Why? Because the Pope is too much like Jesus. Yep. Seriously. Let me explain. There actually are a few (19 out of 221) GOP backers of this resolution and [one of them is leaking a little information](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/07/30/pope-francis-sounds-too-much-like-obama-to-be-honored-by-congress-republican-says/) about why it may never pass or even be voted on. According to this Republican insider, many of his cohorts expressed concern that the Pope has been making statements on issues like “trickle-down economics,” which are “politically charged.” A religious leader addressing the morally repugnant behavior of economic and political systems that value the powerful over the poor? Where have I seen that before? Oh yeah – Jesus. Also, let’s not miss the irony that the Republicans who are resisting the passage of this resolution have the audacity to accuse the Pope actions of being “politically charged.” Their resistance to honoring a man who, as the resolution itself says, has demonstrated humility, broke from tradition to wash the feet of criminals, embraced lepers, and places an emphasis on humanitarian efforts is the only “politically charged” thing I see here. The upside to all of this is that I suspect Pope Francis really doesn’t care if the U.S. Congress honors him this way. Kind of like Jesus probably wasn’t hoping to be honored by Pilate. _Mark Sandlin is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) from the South. He is a co-founder of The Christian Left._ _More from Patheos:_ * [One Day after Suing Obama for Too Much Executive Action, GOP Asks Him to Solve Border Crisis with Executive Action](http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wwjtd/2014/08/one-day-after-suing-obama-for-too-much-executive-action-gop-asks-him-to-solve-border-crisis-with-executive-action/) * [God Is Green: Evangelicals Are Taking a Stand on Climate Change](http://www.patheos.com/blogs/revangelical/2014/08/01/god-is-green-evangelicals-are-taking-a-stand-on-climate-change.html) * [Spare Me the Severed Heads — What’s the Point of Gruesome Images on Facebook?](http://www.patheos.com/blogs/standingonmyhead/2014/08/spare-me-the-severed-heads.html) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3071054/pope-poo-pooed-by-gop-for-being-too-jesus-like/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3071054/pope-poo-pooed-by-gop-for-being-too-jesus-like/"},"headline":"Pope Poo-pooed by GOP for Being too Jesus-like","datePublished":"2014-08-01T18:29:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:43:07.270Z","description":"This article originally appeared on Patheos. 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