Trump, the Pope and the Gospel of 'Pulp Fiction'

It is hardly surprising that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s explicitly Christian monthly worship services monthly in the Pentagon have raised alarm in some quarters about the separation of church and state.

But who expected to find him quoting lines of alleged scripture that were lifted from Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 cult classic “Pulp Fiction”?

The flap begins with a prayer.

At an April 15 worship service, Hegseth recited a prayer he said was sent to him by the lead mission planner of "Sandy One," of the Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) mission in Iran that saved a downed U.S. airman earlier this month.

“Blessed is he who in the name of camaraderie and duty shepherds the lost through the valley of darkness,” Hegseth read in part, “for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children.”

“And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to capture and destroy my brother,” he continued, “and you will know my call sign is Sandy One when I lay my vengeance upon thee. Amen.”

Sound familiar, film buffs? Jules Winnfield, the hitman played by Samuel L. Jackson in “Pulp Fiction,” recites a similar modified version of Ezekiel 25:17 before fatally shooting another man.

The actual biblical passage reads, “And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.”

I can see why the Ezekiel passage excited Hegseth, an Evangelical Christian who proudly embraces a militant Christian Nationalism and views the war that President Trump calls an “excursion” in Iran as part of an apocalyptic showdown between good and evil.

I can also see why it was the "Pulp Fiction" variation Hegseth ended up reciting. Whether blowing up fishing boats in the Caribbean or targets in Iran, the so-called "Department of War" has shown an unseemly taste for cinematic displays of its death-dealing work.

But this was a bad look, and Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell took to the social media platform X to acknowledge that the “custom prayer” that Hegseth shared was “obviously inspired by dialogue in 'Pulp Fiction.' ”

Even right-wing strategist Steve Bannon was moved to opine that the secretary needed to dial down the biblical rhetoric lest it distract from the already difficult job of selling this war to the American public.

Interestingly, the controversy coincided with a fresh outbreak in the dispute between the Trump administration and Pope Leo XIV.

Trump, you will recall, castigated Leo for being "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy" after the pontiff called out his threat to expunge Iran's "civilization."

Now into the fray came Vice President JD Vance. He told Fox News that, in effect, the Vatican should stay in its own lane and stick to stick to matters of morality and “what’s going on in the Catholic church and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy.”

Leo, who has indirectly criticized Trump policies on immigration and war specifically from a moral standpoint, has also become more pointed since the Iran war started. Days before Vance's remarks, the pontiff had suggested during evening prayers at St. Peter’s Basilica that a “delusion of omnipotence” surrounded the war.

Vance continued to stir the pot at an event in Georgia sponsored by Turning Point USA, the right-wing group founded by the late Charlie Kirk.

“In the same way that it’s important for the vice president of the United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, I think it’s very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology,” Vance said.

Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, must be a quick study, offering such wise counsel to the successor of St. Peter. Problem is, it would be difficult to describe Trump's or Vance's words and deeds in the foreign policy realm as "careful."

I think it's fair to say that most Americans, while we can take or leave the opinions and perspectives of any given religious leader, tend to at least consider such pronouncements rendered in good faith. However, we don't believe our government should be bound to follow religious dictates.

Trump and Vance could have respectfully stated this principle and been done with the matter. Yet perhaps because Trump cannot abide criticism from anyone, or perhaps because he, Hegseth and others have sought to sanctify administration policy under the sign of the cross, they had to lash out at the pope.

Not wise. With the midterms ahead and the economy teetering, this seems like a particularly inopportune time to have a spat with the first American pope — who also happens to come from Chicago, long one of the nation’ most Catholic cities.

Meanwhile, Americans United for Separation of Church and State has sued to enforce a public records request from December, asking the Pentagon for internal communications about the worship services, their cost, guests and any complaints received from employees.

Hegseth is "abusing the power" of his government position and taxpayer funds "to impose (his) preferred religion on federal workers," the group asserted in a statement. "Even if these prayer services are presented as voluntary, there is pressure on federal employees to attend in order to appease their bosses."

America’s concept of the separation of church and state has served our republic well, allowing piety to thrive alongside freedom of conscience. There’s no need to make that delicate balance even more complicated — for heaven’s sake or anyone else’s.

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(E-mail Clarence Page at clarence47page@gmail.com.)