(LifeSiteNews) — Father Charles Murr and Frank Wright join John-Henry Westen in this week’s episode of Faith & Reason. They consider the potential impact former President Donald Trump’s conviction will have on the future of American politics, discuss Pope Francis’ recent preface for a book by dissident Jesuit priest James Martin, the establishment of a Carmelite convent outside of the local bishop’s jurisdiction with the blessing of Bishop Athanasius Schneider, and more.

Late last month, former president and current presidential contender Donald Trump was found guilty in a hush money trial centered around payments made to a porn “actress” during the 2016 presidential race; the charges were brought forward by George Soros-backed District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Trump and many others see the conviction as an example of lawfare utilized by a corrupt legal system against a political rival.

Wright opined that people would in general be “horrified” to see such an “abuse” of the legal system. Even if people dislike Trump as a man, they would, he contends, be disturbed by the “instrumentalization of the U.S. legal system in a clearly political persecution,” noting that even former First Lady Hillary Clinton was never charged with crimes.

“I think what it’s done is it’s awakened people who were not already aware of the fact that the legal system is, in fact, simply an ideological weapon now to be wielded in the defense of a regime that is terrified of losing power,” he said.

“For whatever his failings, and for however much people may criticize him rightfully for his stances on abortion and for his hefty donations from the pro-Israel lobby, Trump represents an existential threat to the regime,” he added.

Meanwhile, Wright continued, every action that the system takes against Trump is an act of “self-harm,” showing the world its corruption. This, Wright believes, is the impact of the Trump verdict.

Fr. Murr, an American expatriate living in Spain, said that the attitude of the Andalucians he spoke to is one of disbelief, likening what happened to Trump as “entertainment to them.” For them, the United States was a law-fearing nation, hence their disbelief and his own. The priest continued that Wright is correct to call the system a “regime,” and speaks to the bureaucracy, made of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people.

“These are the people who can’t stand the idea, the threat, of losing their positions and their jobs, their livelihoods,” said Murr.

“They’ve made careers out of giving their opinions and of doing precious little, and nobody is going to come near them to disturb their place, and nobody had until Donald J. Trump,” he continued. “And all of the sudden, they became very quiet, and they went underground, but they did not stop working. They have been very, very active.”

Turning their attention to a discussion Donald Trump Jr. and Tucker Carlson had, in which the younger Trump touched upon the corruption of the federal government, how honorable men in the federal agencies must eventually speak up, and how politicians with the power to act choose not to leverage their power.

Murr recalled the statement about Nazi Germany, “And then they came for me.” He agreed with Trump Jr.’s point that he believed that America was the country he was told it was, giving the benefit of the doubt to reports about the Russiagate scandal because of the possibility he took a selfie with a Russian agent. The majority of Americans, the priest continued, are complacent, because their doors are not the ones being kicked in.

Wright noted that “liberal democracy” was invented in the 1920s based upon the “refinement of the technique of war propaganda.” The whole system, in other words, is designed such that the public is persuaded through manufactured consent to submit to a “distant elite.”

“President Trump has found out what happens when you attempt to introduce genuine democracy into this system, which is intentionally designed to deprive the people of any sincere or real power in society. He is being persecuted for that reason,” said Wright.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis recently wrote a preface for a book by notorious dissident priest James Martin. The book, released last September, includes an exegetical passage in which Martin compares the raising of St. Lazarus from the dead to homosexuals announcing their sexual inclinations. The preface comes a week after Francis used the word “faggotry” in private remarks to the Italian bishops, and after he reportedly told a homosexual ex-seminarian to continue pursuing his vocation.

Upon recalling the raising of St. Lazarus, Murr said that Martin took that “great miracle” and “[turned] it into homosexual men and women coming out of the closet.”

“Your jaw drops,” the priest added, calling Martin’s exegesis a “perversion” of Scripture, Christ’s message, and Christ Himself. That the Pope would praise Martin’s treatment of the passage in the preface for the latter’s book, he contended, is “lunacy.” He also looked at the issue in light of Francis’ use of “faggotry” and his alleged encouragement for the homosexual ex-seminarian.

Wright noted that the LGBT movement is part of the “grievance industry,” an industry whereby one creates and uses his “identitarian grievance for political and personal advantage.” The grievance industry, he added, is “transformative in its power,” while also dissolving social cohesion by insisting upon identity. The industry also takes over institutions that tolerate or celebrate it. This being the case, Martin’s “self-insertion” into the raising of St. Lazarus, Wright said, is unsurprising. The purpose of Martin’s organization, which Wright identities as the LGBT movement, is to subvert the Catholic Church.

Meanwhile, when one does not consider homosexuality in terms of Catholic morality, Wright asked whether it is sane to base one’s identity, self-understanding, and worldview on their sexual behavior and gratification through “niche” sexual actions. “This is the meaning of the rainbow movement entirely,” he observed. “Every single stripe on the flag is devoted to a niche sexual obsession, and those sexual obsessions are the basis for the personalities of the people who wave that flag.”

“Should we entertain its fantasies of power in seeking to insert itself into every narrative, even sacred narratives, in order to subvert those narratives to its own ends?”

For more from Murr and Wright, tune into this week’s episode of Faith & Reason.

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