As those who follow this blog probably know, even though I’m a Episcopalian turned Roman Catholic I’m no fan of this Pope Francis fella. To me, he’s nothing but a globalist / Marxist / communist wolf in sheep’s clothing. There isn’t one – not one – statement he has made since taking over for my main man Pope Benedict that I agree with. And so, as a fan of Donald Trump and a supporter of his candidacy for the Republican nomination, it gladdened my heart to not only hear the Pope attacking The Donald and his Christian faith (to whatever extent that might be) for his plan to build a wall on our southern border, but Trump not mincing words in his Twitter response to the Pope’s comments. As they say in the news biz, let’s go to film:

First, here is what the Pope said:

“Thank God he said I was a politician because Aristotle defined the human person as ‘animal politicus.’ At least I am a human person. As to whether I am a pawn, well, maybe, I don’t know. I’ll leave that up to your judgment and that of the people. And then, a person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.

This is not in the Gospel.

As far as what you said about whether I would advise to vote or not to vote, I am not going to get involved in that. I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that. We must see if he said things in that way and in this I give the benefit of the doubt”

…and here is Trump’s Twitter response:

If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS’s ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President because this would not have happened. ISIS would have been eradicated unlike what is happening now with our all talk, no action politicians.

The Mexican government and its leadership has made many disparaging remarks about me to the Pope, because they want to continue to rip off the United States, both on trade and at the border, and they understand I am totally wise to them. The Pope only heard one side of the story – he didn’t see the crime, the drug trafficking and the negative economic impact the current policies have on the United States. He doesn’t see how Mexican leadership is outsmarting President Obama and our leadership in every aspect of negotiation.

For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful. I am proud to be a Christian and as President I will not allow Christianity to be consistently attacked and weakened, unlike what is happening now, with our current President. No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man’s religion or faith. They are using the Pope as a pawn and they should be ashamed of themselves for doing so, especially when so many lives are involved and when illegal immigration is so rampant.

Ouch. I mean, how good is that? Especially with just days before the South Carolina primary. Never mind the fact that, as a big Evangelical state (only 7% of residents are Roman Catholic), having a spat with the Pope and the Vatican over immigration isn’t exactly going to do him harm – in fact, I’m guessing his poll numbers go up another five points between now and Saturday’s primary.

But let me have a whack at this so-called “religious leader”‘s comments. First of all, Pope Francis, last I checked there were four Gospels, not one. Secondly, wasn’t it Jesus Himself who said, “render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which is God’s”? (Mark 12:17) This Pope is hardly a biblical scholar; he’s much more interested in preaching from his high holy perch the redistribution of wealth among nations. One would think someone in his position would understand that even Jesus recognized the distinction between civil authority and the religious authorities of his time. And I would think a little more highly of what the Pope would say about a “border hawk” if in fact he himself didn’t live inside a walled city. Didn’t Jesus himself say “good walls make good neighbors”? (Of course not, that’s just me being snarky.)

But seriously, folks, one would think Francis has enough on his plate with pedophile gay priests and Christians getting beheaded by Islamic extremists to pick a fight with someone who not only won’t back down to anyone, but someone who has a far greater understanding of the challenges facing the United States’ southern border than someone who lives amidst the security and opulence of the Roman Catholic establishment. He’s a hypocrite of the highest order, and he really stepped in it this time.

One thing you can bet: this guarantees that once again The Donald will be sucking the air out of the room when it comes to press coverage over the next two days.