It doesn’t look like Secretary of State Rubio’s visit with the Pope accomplished much. Both men are sincere but travel different pathways; Rubio’s job is to protect Americans from evil doers, sometimes using force.
Pope Leo’s mandate is to persuade bad people to change their ways without using the hammer. The Pope also strongly believes in redemption.
Therefore, no agreement on fighting evil is likely to happen. The Trump administration has been successful in closing the southern border and confronting narcotics merchants using force. It hopes to use similar tactics to blunt Iran’s nuke quest.
It is difficult for Americans to turn the collective other cheek when danger is apparent. People of goodwill understand the Pope isn’t doing anything bad; he is simply preaching a non-violent theology.
Unfortunately, that rarely, if ever, works on the malevolent, and as with Hitler and his crew, brave nations must stop them, or mass violence will continue.
So, there’s the moral dilemma. It’s a big one.
