Republican presidential hopefuls Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee, who both belong to the Southern Baptist church, have only good words to say about Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, who concluded his six-day apostolic visit to the United States on Sunday evening.
During his visit, the Pope championed religious liberty, the importance of family and marriage, and compassion for migrants.
On Wednesday, Cruz wrote an article for The Federalist calling Pope Francis as the "proclaimer of truth," according to Christian News.
"In an era when many global leaders are descending to relativism, Pope Francis continues to proclaim the truth," he said. "This week presents an historic and a hopeful moment for the nation. Pope Francis is visiting the United States. In stark contrast to media elites and national leaders smothering the truth of life, marriage, and religious liberty, Pope Francis has unabashedly stood for these primary gifts to humanity."
Cruz criticised some media outlets for distracting the American public from the Pope's visit "with anything they can to make the pope's visit divisive."
"Indeed, there are policy discussions to be had on issues like the environment and US relations with communist countries such as Cuba. These distinctions are important, but let us not forget what we have in common and what this leader of the Church brings to America as a gift to us — his care for the family and his heart of mercy for the most vulnerable," he said.
Cruz said Americans should look up to the Pope and be inspired by his kind heart, wisdom, and humility. "In this Year of Mercy, may Pope Francis' example inspire us to treat all with charity, pray for those who are persecuted, and speak out for those without a voice," he said. "It is an honour to meet a man who has lived the faith so selflessly. I thank Pope Francis for his service to God and to the world, and I hope during his visit we are each reminded of our call to see every person with the eyes of Christ."
Meanwhile, Huckabee said that although he is not a Catholic he has "great respect for the Catholic Church and for the Pope" even as he continued airing his frustration towards President Barack Obama for including transgender activists and pro-abortionists in his guest list to meet with the Pope.
"Bring the best and most faithful Catholics you can—people who would give their right arm to be able to meet his holiness," he told Fox's Megyn Kelly.
Kelly suggested that maybe Obama was just trying to expose Pope Francis to different views, but Huckabee argued that it would have been better suited for a summit. But even then, Huckabee said that the guest list would still be questionable.
"I'm not sure that President Obama needs to school and lecture Pope Francis on Catholic doctrine and why he's wrong. Last time, I checked, it's the Pope who is supposed to lecture Christians, not the other way around," Huckabee maintained. "Unless Obama now has decided that he really has a greater depth of theology and a better understanding of Scripture than the Pope himself..."
