DERRY, N.H. — In case you wondered, Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush may be Catholic, but he will not take political marching orders from the pope.
Asked about Pope Francis’ recent encyclical on the environment during his first campaign swing through New Hampshire, Bush expressed great admiration for the pope. He called him “an extraordinary leader” who has “drawn people back to the faith,” but that didn’t mean he agreed with him on everything.
“I hope I’m not going to get castigated for this by my priest back home, but I don’t get my policy from my priests or my bishops or my cardinals or my pope,” Bush said. “I’d like to see what [Pope Francis] says in relation to climate change and how it relates to deeper issues before I pass judgment, but I think religions ought to be about making us better as people and less about things in the political realm.”
Some conservatives have criticized the pope’s take on the environment for being too liberal.
The former Florida governor received tremendous applause from the crowd. Bush was raised Episcopalian but converted to Catholicism 25 years ago.
Bush also mentioned religious liberty and the Christian wedding vendors who decline to participate in same-sex marriage ceremonies.
“It scares me that we are moving away from one of our basic freedoms. Not just the right to have a view, but to act on a view,” Bush said. “Some candidates for the presidency say that if you have religious views that conflict with society, you’re in trouble. But I think that were a big enough country, a tolerant enough country to allow both to exist.”
Local voters who attended the event seemed to agree.
“Jeb’s got the right idea,” longtime New Hampshire resident Edward Russel said. “I totally agree there should be separation of church and state, after all it’s in our constitution. Priests and bishops and popes should stick to religious affairs and not get involved as to whether the tide is rising on the coast.”
Bush also called the Islamic State “a long-term threat,” stating the United States needed a plan for response.
Bush said he would order more boots on the ground in both Iraq and Syria, He explained that the U.S. would need to repair relationships with the “neighborhood,” and work with Middle Eastern countries also fighting ISIS. Additionally the U.S. would need to build up the Iraqi military, maintain air support, and ultimately, “take [ISIS] out.” The GOP hopeful lamented that the Obama administration has yet to craft any such strategy.
“We need a strategy, we don’t need to be responding to and reacting,” Bush explained. “This president has literally said twice in the last year that we don’t have a strategy. Really? Well he’s supposed to be in charge.”
