Sometimes, the “good guys” do wear white hats.
Well, sort of.
The “good guy” I am referring to is the American-born leader of the Catholic church, Pope Leo XIV, who shepherds a 1.4 billion-strong congregation.
The “white hat” he dons is a skullcap called a “zucchetto” – which is meant to signify his authority and humility in equal measure.
Lately, Leo has been exercising his authority – imbued with a quiet humility – to confront a bully who ought to have been confronted a long time ago.
That bully is, of course, United States President Donald Trump – whose idea of diplomacy is to strut around the globe spewing puerile, profanity-laced threats meant to frighten or intimidate other presidents and prime ministers into acquiescence or submission.
For years, Trump’s modus operandi worked. Too often, too many presidents and prime ministers opted to mollify him, instead of challenging him.
Their myopic reasoning – that assuaging Trump’s ego would soothe his petty, vindictive instincts – only emboldened a president who, like every bully, takes keen pleasure in exploiting weakness to satisfy a narcissism-centred hunger for dominance.
Clearly, Leo rejects appeasement as an antidote to coercion and hate.
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