A schooled response to Trump's call to pray

'Love is patient and kind ... not arrogant or rude' or 'I hate my opponent.' Which is it?

- STEVE LOPEZ COLUMNIST

MADISON Fjeld at the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Nashville in February 2024, where Donald Trump spoke.

(GEORGE WALKER IV Associated Press)

As a young lad growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area town of Pittsburg, I had a school uniform that consisted of corduroys the color of Ash Wednesday, a white dress shirt and a maroon V-neck sweater. I walked west from my family's apartment on 10th Street, turned left on Montezuma, and arrived about 15 minutes later at the campus of St. Peter Martyr.

My teachers were nuns, the parish priests were Dominicans, and Sunday Mass was a celebration of faith, humility and grace.

I am not without sin. I'm an imperfect man and the church is an imperfect institution.

But I've been wondering lately what my favorite St. Peter Martyr teachers - Sisters Roberta, Eileen and Estelle - would make of today's political discourse, in which claims of piety and Christian faith are not always backed by words and deeds, particularly from a certain world leader.

I think if they were teaching today, the nuns would tell everyone in class to get out their pencils and notebooks and write a letter to the president.

So here goes.

Dear President Trump: Ever hear of St. Peter Martyr School?

Probably not, but I'm an alum. The school was named after St. Peter of Verona, who campaigned against heresy and paid the price when one of the Cathars sunk an ax into his skull (what a way to go). So I guess politics haven't really changed much over the centuries.

PASTOR Paula White, Texas official Dan Patrick, Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi, President Trump at a Bible museum.

(EVAN VUCCI Associated Press)