This week I have been thinking about the back and forth between the pope, the president, and the vice president. Apparently the president called the pope “weak on crime” and captive to the “radical left.” The pope has been outspoken in lamenting the war in Iran and calling for peace. The quote I read in The Associated Press from Pope Leo was, “I’m not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, which is what the Church works for.”

On a much smaller scale, this reminded me of one of our beliefs in the United Church of Christ—the freedom and responsibility of the pulpit. Here is the language from our tradition:

freedom and responsibility of the pulpit: notwithstanding any of the other pastoral responsibilities outlined in our church Constitution and Bylaws, in the United Church of Christ Constitution and Bylaws and Manual on Ministry (noting the Minister Codes and The Church in Relation to Its Pastor in Section 1 of MOM), and in the Three-Way Covenant we establish together with the Association/Conference, in accepting pastoral leadership we also accept your freedom of expression in the pulpit as it pertains to matters of faith and faithfulness, trusting you to be responsible to the insight of scripture, the work of the Holy Spirit, the traditions of the United Church of Christ, and the contexts in which we live our lives.

What this means in effect is that UCC clergy are free to express our views and address the moral and social issues of the times in which we are living without fearing censorship or even termination from our congregations.
UCC clergy have ethical codes of conduct we must abide by, and we are called upon to weigh our words carefully—speaking the truth in love.
Preaching comes with both responsibility and with freedom.
That is a deeply-held belief among UCC clergy.

This week I have been reading Pope Leo describing why he feels compelled to call for peace and contemplating what he’s saying in my own UCC clergy way.
It seems that the pope is speaking loudly the message of the Gospel.
He is exercising the freedom and responsibility of the pulpit (albeit a pulpit with a global audience)!
Pope Leo is specifically sharing Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount (whether they are popular for some folks to hear or not), “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9).
Just another way to think about the events of the week.

Love,
Pastor Lauren

*Bill Barrow, “The Trump and Leo chronicles: A president and a pope square off over Iran and its aftermath,” The Associated Press, April 14, 2026,

https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-pope-leo-what-they-said-c9a721a132f1941eaebc139e1213937d

Photo by Rev. Lauren Ostrout of the pulpit inside the St. John the Evangelist and the Fishermen-Apostles’ Chapel in Winchester Cathedral, Winchester, England.