Catholicism and the Trump Administration

by Courtney Wight '26 on April 16, 2026

Opinion - News & Politics

My junior year I took the general Foundations: Faith, Life, and Traditions class to fill my theology 200 requirement at Providence College. The majority of the semester was the standard stuff, but towards the end of the semester my professor wanted to connect our experience in the classroom to the real world. This was during the presidential election of 2024, so we discussed the relationship between religion and politics. The conclusion from our class was that religion does, and should, impact politics because a person’s values and views are shaped by religion.

Before getting into the thick of it, I would like to clarify that I am not Catholic. I am basing this opinion piece on my experiences with Catholicism through coursework at PC. My Development of Western Civilization and theology courses gave me a general understanding of the Church teachings, but we did not read the whole Bible cover to cover and I am not an expert on Catholicism.

As a part of the class, we covered the topic of abortion since it is a hot issue within the political and religious spheres. A majority of candidates with the Republican Party on the conservative side were anti-abortion, but our class discussions revealed a more nuanced view into expressing religion in politics. Through the framework of the whole-life ethic, we expanded that being a Catholic should not mean that you have to vote Republican simply because the candidate is anti-abortion. As a Catholic, there is also a duty to protect women, immigrants, prisoners, and children. Using this framework, I argue that if you continue to support the action of the Trump Administration, you are not following Catholic teachings.

According to the whole-life ethic, immigrants should be given care and consideration. The treatment of immigrants by the Trump Administration is vile and dehumanizing. Ripped from their lives, torn from their families, people are held in unsafe detention centers. I experienced this first hand through my summer internship with my local assemblymember. As an intern, I was responsible for answering the phone and someone called one day asking for assistance since her husband had been taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. In the background, I could hear their children crying as she recounted the story. It was heartbreaking to hear a family being broken apart, knowing there was nothing I could do. My assemblymember’s previous career was in immigration law and after the phone call ended she was clear the chances of him being returned to his family were slim. This woman became a single mother in an afternoon and was told no information about the location of her husband or how to contact him. This treatment of immigrants is not in line with Catholic teachings, but it is happening across the country under the Trump Administration.

In addition to protecting immigrants, Catholics have a duty to protect women and children. The Trump Administration’s military actions in Iran threaten noncombatants, primarily women and children. A primary example of this was a school hit by a bomb, likely from the United States. At least 170 people died, most of whom were school-aged girls, primarily from ages seven to 12. Bombing a school and killing children is not in line with Catholic teachings. Additionally, Trump has made personal threats to civilian infrastructure through the Truth Social App. President Trump announced, “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran.” Trump also threatened “a whole civilization will die tonight,” which presumably includes women and children. These threats have been perceived as potential war crimes since targeting civilian infrastructure and threatening to kill an entire country is not within the scope of war, and it is certainly not aligned with Catholic teachings.

Again, I am not Catholic and am not claiming to be. I tried my best in theology classes and I’d like to think my professors did a great job conveying the teachings of the Church to their students. My key takeaways from Catholicism were not violence, aggression, and bullying others into submission. It was love, acceptance, and care for those less fortunate. The Trump Administration’s actions do not align with the heart of Catholic teachings and a continued support of this administration is supporting the caging of immigrants and the killing of school girls.

Letter to the Editor: Concerning the Valentine’s Cowl

by Greg Scimeca ’26 on February 27, 2026

Letters to the Editor

Dear Editors of The Cowl,

This year’s Valentine’s publication featured a large page on the back side of the Portfolio Section of two gay men having an intimate moment. From what I am told, this was taken from the “largest pop culture reference to love,” which is from the show Heated Rivalry, a highly explicit homosexual TV show. I write this as someone who cherishes the Catholic Faith, and the values we hold at Providence College, namely truth and human dignity. First, I would like to speak to how strongly I believe in freedom of speech and of the press. For 250 years, our country has uniquely cherished freedom of speech. It is such a privilege to be able to use our voices to express counter-cultural media, content that is overlooked and even reviled by the majority. I also think that students should share their opinions, even if they happen to oppose Catholic teaching. Additionally, I would like to highlight PCs Catholic tradition. Rather than attempt to explain Catholic morality, I would like to simply say that the Church is not okay with same-sex relations. This is not to the exclusion of love. Instead, as St. Augustine teaches, we must love the person and hate the sin. Whether the editors intended to or not, this back cover page misrepresents the Catholic view of love. The article with the image was published on Valentine’s Day, a day that society perceives as a day to observe romantic love. At a Catholic school, this should be a day reserved for admiring the complementarity of the sexes as is discussed in Genesis and offering a perspective of virtue.

Writing this on Feb. 24, I was struck by Christ’s teaching in the daily Gospel readings. He teaches to avoid praying like the pagans, saying, “Do not be like them.” This quote encapsulates what I would like to encourage by writing this letter. As a Catholic school, we should of course model Christ’s message in everything we do, from our speech, to our writing, and even to our policies. Thus, we should “not be like” modern society, which has become increasingly pagan. Hence, it would be an incorrect approach for our newspaper to portray simply whatever is popular at the time. Let me offer a few counterpoints. First, this article is not an Opinion piece. On the contrary, it takes up the entire center insert page of the Portfolio Section, as much as the five student articles on the opposite side. In my belief, this prominence of selection represents the student-body views as a whole. However, many students whom I have talked with feel as though this does not represent their deeply held Catholic beliefs, and has no business being published in a Catholic school’s newspaper.

I want to offer a better, counter-cultural answer to this dilemma. Christ’s ministry, from its outset, was counter-cultural, fighting against the Pharisees, who set all the standards. He welcomed the outcasts, the scorned, and the unwanted. He rebuked sin of every kind, such as driving out the irreverent merchants in the temple. Most radically, he taught a harsh, violent world to turn the other cheek. By publishing this image, The Cowl, the student newspaper, becomes a spokesperson for the culture of sin which Christ came to annihilate.

Here at Providence College, we should welcome everyone. But we should never welcome sin.

Sincerely,

Greg Scimeca ’26

25th Anniversary of St. Dominic Chapel

by Sarah McCall ’26 on January 29, 2026

News

St. Dominic’s Chapel will celebrate its 25th anniversary during Mass on Sunday, Feb. 1. Since its blessing in 2001, St. Dominic’s has served and encouraged thousands of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and local Providence residents to pursue the Providence College and Dominican pillar of veritas. St. Dominic’s offers countless opportunities to pursue truth and has become a cornerstone of Providence College and the greater Providence community.

For many students, the Chapel provides community through programs such as Campus Ministry, FaithWorks, Open Table, Veritas Roundtable, and Late Night Mass. Currently, the Chapel offers Sunday Mass at 11 a.m., 7 p.m., and 10 p.m., Monday through Thursday Mass at 4:35 p.m. and 9 p.m., and Friday Mass at 4:35 p.m. If you are interested in attending the reception after the Dedication Mass, register online to join members of the PC community in the Campus Ministry Center to celebrate at https://events.blackthorn.io/en/3iofXW6/g/BzkeJBjC3d/general-registration-st-dominic-chapel-anniversary-mass-and-reception-4a6XUTCfH7/overview.