When Trump’s Christian Nationalism and Catholic Devotion Meet

In his video message for the “Rededication of the United States to God” on May 17, former Archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan remarked that the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference will consecrate the nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 11. The timing of this consecration, as well as the historical significance of this Catholic devotion, could suggest a perverse political shift in American Catholicism, contrary to Pope Leo’s advice to separate faith from partisan political stances.

From the 19th to the 20th century, the Catholic hierarchy exploited devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for political gain, using state institutions to enforce Catholic moral discipline as state law. This project of intransigent Catholicism accompanied the Catholic Church throughout the 20th century and into the early 21st century.

However, Pope Francis’s pontificate marked a break from this project. Devotion to the Sacred Heart was able to free itself from encroaching on politics and public institutions. Instead, it became the foundation of a political ecumenism in spiritual support of democracy, the constitutional state, and social justice. Pope Leo XIV also moved decisively in this direction during his first year of pontificate, even without explicitly referring to devotion to the Sacred Heart. His commitment to social issues, such as peace, diplomacy, and a higher justice capable of honoring the dignity of every human being, as well as his efforts to shape a new force of international law, can be seen as a cultural and political synthesis of a new humanism.

This humanism is inspired by Jesus’s passion for humanity, wounded by history and the worldly powers’ claim to dominion. It found its highest media visibility in the dialectic with the policies of the Trump administration. In this context, the American bishops’ decision to consecrate the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, less than a month after Trump’s rededication of the nation to God, risks being perceived as a politically charged religious act.

At this moment, consecrating the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus risks reviving the use of Catholic devotion as a political alliance aligned with the current U.S. administration’s vision. This potential alliance could overshadow the evangelical dimension of taking action in society in favor of justice for all, regardless of who they are. Furthermore, intertwining devotion to the Sacred Heart with the current state of the American nation could exacerbate the deep divisions within U.S. society rather than providing common ground for reconciling those divisions.

American bishops must now find a way to explicitly convey God’s unconditional mercy toward every human being within the context of the United States’ current political orientation, both domestically and internationally. The love of God expressed through devotion to the Sacred Heart cannot be selective, nor can it support partisan politics.

This is no easy task, especially since there are likely to be deeply divergent views within the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops regarding the revival of devotion to the Sacred Heart in the country’s public—and, consequently, political—life. Another matter is clarifying how the consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart can be harmonized with the Holy See’s current diplomatic efforts, while avoiding exploitation within the Catholic world that would deepen the tensions plaguing the Church.

In any case, the American bishops’ ambiguous decision clearly shows how theology is increasingly being called upon as an operative subject in designing a new world order. However, this theology must break free from the reassuring system the discipline has built since the Second Vatican Council and address the significant issues of our time, embracing the role of cultural intelligence in the Catholic faith. Thus, the necessity of moving toward a geopolitical configuration of theological thought is becoming apparent.