Pope Leo XIV certainly is causing consternation inside The Beltway, unceasingly calling for peace and installing an immigrant bishop in charge of the Catholic Diocese of West Virginia. There are countless topics which must be addressed; war and our government’s assault on immigrants are just two of them. Pope Leo, through words and action, is demonstrating strong, moral leadership on these and other matters.

He is doing exactly what his predecessor, Pope Francis, challenged the Church to do – to be involved in society, to be of service, to “… take action when it (is) urgent and necessary to do so.”

In paragraph 57 of his ecological encyclical On Care for Our Common Home, Pope Francis asked, “What would induce anyone, at this stage, to hold on to power only to be remembered for their inability to take action when it was urgent and necessary to do so?” Published a decade ago, that question is even more valid and pressing today. Our two major political parties are abdicating leadership when embracing it is what is required.

One of the most consequential votes any member of Congress can make – whether to allow the president to wage war (in this case, against Iran) – is not going to happen now as Speaker Mike Johnson canceled the vote. This is cowardice, not leadership.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party, claiming that the very future of the planet is at stake should they not regain power, are having a cat fight over Chair Ken Martin and the DNC’s delayed, bleak and quite inconclusive “autopsy” (After Action Report) from the 2024 election. They can’t lead a political party and yet they expect the citizens of this nation to turn to them for the strong, steady and sane leadership the United States requires. Stunning!

Party leaders aren’t even talking to each other; rather, they recruit primary opponents. Compromise with a member of the other party is punishable by lifetime political banishment.

So, forging relationships, an essential leadership trait, is not happening. Out of those relationships come a deeper respect for and understanding of one another. It causes people to look for common ground – especially when the general welfare is at stake.

Additionally, paralysis sets in. Nothing happens. And we breathe a sigh of relief knowing that, fearful that if either party does actually do anything, it will be so obviously self-serving as to cause more harm than good, including to the public’s trust in our leaders.

The dithering and dodging by the Democrats over their autopsy is predictable. Instead of unifying for their single purpose – to win an election – they will continue to waste precious time, which they are doing as you read this.

The Republicans simply adjourn. They cut and run. And plan how to win the next election, which they are doing as you read this.

Business as usual is simply not acceptable. Too many people are dying. Our streets are full of suffering people. Too many problems are being ignored. Too many of those in power seek only to enrich themselves as struggling families are wondering where the next meal will come from.

These are times when those in power must act for the welfare of those they serve. We simply can’t be known as the generation that allowed our Republic to expire because We the People failed to demand they our leaders do what they were elected to do. It is literally the least we can do.

© Michael M. Barrick, 2026. Act Now photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash