Mike Johnson lecturing the pope Is a blasphemy that LGBTQ+ people know all too well

There are some things that defy explanation.

When the loathsome House Speaker Mike Johnson recently took it upon himself to explain the Bible to Pope Leo XIV, the Bishop of Rome, the spiritual leader of over a billion Catholics, and a person who has truly earned his Jesus stripes, it just confirmed what a sanctimonious idiot Johnson is.

This bizarre Bible babble from one of the most unholy people on Earth went beyond being absurd because the very idea that the narcissistic Johnson really thought he knew more about the Bible than the humble Leo is … well, inexplicable.

In my humble opinion, Johnson is arguably the most offensive Christian in the United States at present. Donald Trump claims to be Christian, but he also said he won the 2020 election, so there you go.

Johnson is the definition of sanctimonious hypocrisy. To anyone paying attention, especially the LGBTQ+ community, whose lives and dignity have been repeatedly diminished by this man’s cruelty, his “I know better than the pope” pompousness wasn’t surprising.

Johnson’s pathetic posture toward Pope Leo was, in his narrow mind, a theological exchange, but it was really a politician in full Christian bigoted and xenophobic nationalist mode trying to appropriate scripture to justify policies that wound and exclude. The slimy Johnson juxtaposed with the white robe–clad pontiff is a study in severe contrast.

Johnson’s own words make the irony impossible to ignore. When pressed about his views on social issues, he told the equally repulsive Sean Hannity that he advises them to “go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it — that’s my worldview,” as if that somehow settles complex moral and ethical questions. Johnson is clearly taking his cues from the Trump Bible, which is another contrast to King James Version.

Related: Speaker Mike Johnson Addresses Past Homophobia on Fox News' Hannity

He doubled down that he “genuinely love[s] all people regardless of their lifestyle choices,” and then promptly turned around and advanced policies and rhetoric that do real harm to LGBTQ+ lives. And “lifestyle choices” was akin to saying “practicing homosexual.” Johnson’s “homosexual” language makes him sound like a relic from the 1950s.

If you want to talk about Christianity, let’s talk about what the Bible actually says about love and justice, and not what Johnson picks and chooses to justify his political agenda.

Long before he was speaker, Johnson made his views brutally clear. He described homosexuality as “inherently unnatural” and said legal recognition of same-sex relationships would lead toward societal collapse. In another fundraising email lamenting that “1 in 4 high school students identifies as something other than straight,” he declared our culture “dark and depraved” and ripe for divine judgment.

It’s hard to imagine that someone who truly walks in the footsteps of Christ, like Pope Leo, would make these assumptions, accusations, and insults. Johnson’s comments make him more suitable for the Church of Satan.

Related: Mike Johnson Laments the Number of Queer Kids in GOP Fundraising Email

Johnson doesn’t just use religious language. He believes that scripture — at least his version of it — should drive public policy and has outright questioned the idea of the separation of church and state. He has argued that America was founded not on democratic pluralism but on a “biblical republic,” again, biblical in Johnson’s warped view.

In one speech to an anti-LGBTQ+ organization, Johnson shared an extraordinary claim that God had told him to step forward into leadership, likening himself to Moses. If Johnson is like Moses, then I can throw a football like Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

The audacity of that comparison, especially from a man whose legislative actions have included opposing protections for transgender people and supporting anti-LGBTQ+ bills, exposes the gulf between his rhetoric and the lived reality of the faith he invokes. Johnson shepherded legislation like the so-called big beautiful bill, which bans federally funded gender-affirming care for trans people.

Related: In the wake of Kerrville, how so-called Christian Mike Johnson is leading a satanic cycle of suffering

Johnson’s ties to organizations that promoted messages about “ex-gay” identity and conversion therapy, practices widely condemned by mainstream psychological and medical communities, reveal a pattern of aligning with efforts that have harmed LGBTQ+ people for decades.

This history is not trivial. It demonstrates a lifelong commitment to policies that have real consequences for our youth, our families, and our communities.

Consider the fact that Pope Francis repeatedly called for a church that welcomes and accompanies, that extends mercy and refuses to cast anyone aside. Francis’s beliefs, along with Leo's message on immigration, dignity, and care for the marginalized, arise from centuries of theological reflection steeped in humility and human compassion.

If Johnson were genuinely interested in Christian teaching, he wouldn’t spend his time promulgating exclusion. Jesus didn’t tell the marginalized to read scripture so they could condemn themselves. No, he reached out to them, embraced them, and redefined the terms of community.

Our community has felt the sting of Johnson’s politics that erases our existence from classrooms, the rhetoric that labels us immoral, the refusal to stand with us as human beings worthy of equality and love. We have watched him invoke the Bible as a shield for sinful behavior. That’s not Christianity. Not by a long shot.

The real blasphemy isn’t the pope calling for compassion and mercy. It’s Mike Johnson, with his long record of harming LGBTQ+ lives, daring to lecture the Vatican on scripture.

Religion, at its best, calls believers to love their neighbors. Johnson’s politics calls us enemies. If he wants to debate theology, he should start with love. And if he wants to lecture the pope, he should first look in the mirror and notice his reflection eerily resembles Satan.

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