In interview with Catholic journalist, Trump chafes at forgiving enemies

U.S. President Donald Trump’s refusal to say he would forgive his political enemies even when standing before the judgment throne of God has drawn attention to the state of the soul of America’s chief executive, including a warning from a New York priest about how refusing to forgive risks one’s eternal fate.

In a Nov. 8 interview with “60 Minutes” correspondent Ross Douthat, who is Catholic, Douthat steered the conversation from politics to mortality and the Gospel’s call to forgiveness.

Douthat pointedly asked Trump whether he could feel love and forgiveness for his nemeses, such as former FBI director James Comey and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, if doing so were required to enter paradise.

Trump said he still hates some of his enemies because of what he called their “weaponization” of the law against him.

Douthat pressed him on this point, asking again whether, before the judgment of God and after all that has been given to him, “you couldn’t find it in your heart to forgive some of your enemies?”

“Can I be honest?” Trump said. “I probably cannot do that now because I do hate some of my enemies and I always will.”

Father Gerald Murray, pastor of St. Joseph’s…