Pope Leo XIV’s recent visit to France has reignited a debate about the relationship between law and morality, with Breitbart columnist James Pinkerton arguing that the pontiff’s message could have profound political implications. According to Pinkerton, the Pope’s emphasis on moral teachingsāparticularly on issues like abortion and assisted suicideāserves as a quiet but pointed rebuke to political leaders in France, the United States, and beyond.
During his trip, Pope Leo XIV stressed the Catholic Church’s teachings on what Pinkerton describes as profound moral issues. The Pope’s words, “What is legal is not necessarily moral,” have become a central theme of his visit. Pinkerton suggests that if this distinction between legality and morality were to gain broader traction, it could lead to significant political upheaval, potentially un-electing officials whose policies are deemed immoral despite being legally enacted.
Constitutional Foundations and Moral Duties
Pinkerton invokes John Adams, America’s second president, who wrote in 1798 that the U.S. Constitution was designed for a “moral and religious People.” According to Adams, the limited government envisioned by the Framers could only function if citizens practiced self-discipline and adhered to moral principles. Without such internalized morality, Adams warned, “Avarice, Ambition, Revengeā¦ would break the strongest Cords of our Constitution as a Whale goes through a Net.”
This historical context, Pinkerton argues, underscores that the Constitution’s civic neutrality always depended on an implicit moral foundation. He contends that contemporary American politics has legalized much villainy, citing examples such as cities funding drug use and providing housing for sex offenders, as well as federal welfare programs that he claims subsidize destructive behavior.
France’s Riots: A Case Study
Just days after the Pope left France, the country was rocked by riots. While many blame unchecked immigration, Pinkerton observes that the rioters are not protesting in Algeria; they are French youth. This, he argues, points to deeper societal failures rooted in secularism, welfarism, and libertinismāpolicies that may be legal but are morally and practically flawed. The Pope, Pinkerton writes, offers a rebuke to the French political class by highlighting the biblical principles of social order that France has neglected.
Pinkerton extends this critique to the U.S., suggesting that America’s political class similarly ignores moral considerations in favor of legal expediency. He points to the Pope’s encyclical on artificial intelligence earlier this year, in which Leo XIV asserted that AI is not a person and does not have a soul. The Pope also declared that only humans can be true artists, stating, “Algorithms lack the spark of humanity. For this reason, the Church wishes to renew an alliance with artists and cultural institutions to safeguard our humanity.”
According to Pinkerton, these statements reflect a consistent theme in Pope Leo XIV’s teachings: a focus on reconciling the Creator with humanity, emphasizing that every person is made in God’s image. This vision, Pinkerton argues, offers a path toward a better future where babies are welcomed and youths are not inclined to commit arson.
The Pope’s Message of Inner Fulfillment
Pinkerton quotes the Pope extensively, including a passage where Leo XIV speaks of the emptiness that worldly pursuits cannot fill: “Brothers and sisters, we must acknowledge that nothing in this world can ever fully satisfy us. When we think that our work is finished at last and our efforts have been rewarded, that inner emptiness often returns, deeper than before. And so, in an attempt to fill it, we may seek new pleasures, want to possess more and more things, or do everything we can to distract ourselves in order to numb that inner restlessness.”
The Pope continued, “Yes, you thirst for God, for life, for truth, for unity, for peace, for communion and for happiness. You long to rediscover a horizon filled with light and to build a renewed nation upon roots nourished by faith.”
Pinkerton argues that these words should resonate with believers and non-believers alike, as they speak to a universal longing for peace and unity. He concludes that a free and decent society cannot be based solely on politically contrived legality; it requires divinely derived morality. Consequently, he asserts that the liberal-progressive paradigm has served society poorly, and politicians who have shaped immoral policies should fear judgment.
The Pope’s visit and his subsequent remarks have sparked discussions across Europe and the U.S. about the role of morality in public life. While the Vatican has not issued a political statement, the Pope’s words have clearly resonated with conservative commentators like Pinkerton, who see them as a call to reevaluate the moral foundations of contemporary governance.
Source: www.breitbart.com ā https://www.breitbart.com/faith/2026/10/03/pinkerton-pope-leo-reminds-europe-legal-is-not-the-same-as-moral-and-moral-matters-more/