For CNN This Morning guest host Erica Hill, the Trump administration’s argument with Pope Leo over the Iran War provided her an opportunity to hype the idea that true religion is liberal and the “moral courage” the country needs. To help her make that point, Hill brought on Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde—best known for turning the Inaugural Prayer Service into Liberal Culture War Hour—and hyped Sen. Raphael Warnock suggesting that pleas that Leo not confuse his political opinions with God’s are “how fascists talk.” Hill wondered, “Could this actually be helping in this moment to elevate the pope's message? Because it is prompting more of a discussion about what the pope is, in fact, talking about?” Budde agreed, “Right. And he's consistent. Utterly consistent in his message of peace, focusing on the suffering and the marginalized, calling for respect and dignity in human discourse. And I think it's really important to note his concern that we all have, quite frankly, of the misappropriation of religious symbolism to justify bellicosity and war and the—and the uncontrolled use of political and military power. And we all have huge concerns about this. And frankly, it's nothing new with this administration.” Popes simply do not endorse military action anymore. Even Pope Francis got himself in trouble several times with the Ukrainians, who are fighting a purely defensive war, if ever there was one. If CNN wants to make an argument against the war, it is going to need to do better than appealing to a pacifist.   CNN's Erica Hill tells Mariann Budde (you remember her, the Episcopal bishop that turned the Inaugural Prayer Service into a liberal culture war session) "[Sen. Raphael Warnock "was reacting specifically to some comments from JD Vance, but there's part of this that I think you'll… pic.twitter.com/WBwdZCtUbf — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) April 15, 2026   As it was, Hill moved on and teed up a clip for the liberal bishop of a liberal pastor on MS NOW’s The Briefing with Jen Psaki, “I thought it was interesting, some of the comments that we heard from Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, who is, of course, also a pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. He was reacting specifically to some comments from JD Vance, but there's part of this that I think you'll appreciate as well. Take a listen.” The context for the clip was Vice President JD Vance claiming the pope needs “to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.” Psaki didn’t play the part where Vance also questioned Leo’s remarks about God not choosing sides in wars by asking if God was on America’s side when the U.S. liberated France from the Nazis and the concentration camps and answering that he thought He was. In the video, Warnock claimed that “This is how despots and wannabe despots talk. This is how fascists talk. They tell the people who are faith leaders to stay in their lane…There couldn't be a better time for leaders of faith, for people of moral courage to hold power accountable. If they don't want to be held accountable, if they don't want to hear truth being spoken to power, that's just too bad.” Hill then alluded to Budde’s inauguration remarks when she asked, “Senator Warnock touching there on the pressure the administration seems to be placing on faith leaders to fall in line. I know you've dealt with some of that firsthand. But he also spoke about moral courage. In this moment, where do you see moral courage right now?” Budde concurred in the idea that moral courage is in criticizing Trump, “Where do I see moral courage? Well, I see it everywhere, Erica. I see it certainly in the—in the stance that the pope has taken. I see it in people across this country and around the world who are—who are insisting that there is a better narrative and a better way forward for us as a country. I see it in all manner of endeavors to try and rein in a government right now, our government, that has—that is being led by people with absolutely no accountability and the larger and larger platform with which to wreak considerable damage.” She also claimed, “And so, moral courage, we are seeing rise up across every spectrum of our country. And I think as the—as Raphael Warnock said so well, this is what moral courage looks like. It isn't remaining silent. It's not staying in some self-prescribed safe lane. It is looking at the issues that harm or protect human thriving, which is not about protecting one religion against another, but making sure that all of God's children can live with some modicum of peace and well-being.” Warnock and Budde both believe things about abortion, same-sex marriage, and transgender ideology that Pope Leo would oppose, which shows the logical absurdities of Hill and Psaki’s segments. If Leo is speaking truth to power to Trump on Iran, will he be speaking truth to power to them when this war ends and the news cycle shifts back to something else or will they all of a sudden claim the subject is too nuanced for papal commentary? Certainly not, but that won’t stop them from currently using Leo to score points against Trump. Here is a transcript for the April 15 show: CNN This Morning 4/15/2026 6:52 AM ET ERICA HILL: You—to that point about not focusing on the personalities, could this actually be helping in this moment to elevate the pope's message? Because it is prompting more of a discussion about what the pope is, in fact, talking about? MARIANN BUDDE: Right. And he's consistent. HILL: Yes. BUDDE: Utterly consistent in his message of peace, focusing on the suffering and the marginalized, calling for respect and dignity in human discourse. And I think it's really important to note his concern that we all have, quite frankly, of the misappropriation of religious symbolism to justify bellicosity and war and the—and the uncontrolled use of political and military power. And we all have huge concerns about this. And frankly, it's nothing new with this administration. HILL: I thought it was interesting, some of the comments that we heard from Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, who is, of course, also a pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. He was reacting specifically to some comments from JD Vance, but there's part of this that I think you'll appreciate as well. Take a listen. RAPHAEL WARNOCK: This is how despots and wannabe despots talk. This is how fascists talk. They tell the people who are faith leaders to stay in their lane. [jump cut] There couldn't be a better time for leaders of faith, for people of moral courage to hold power accountable. If they don't want to be held accountable, if they don't want to hear truth being spoken to power, that's just too bad. HILL: Senator Warnock touching there on the pressure the administration seems to be placing on faith leaders to fall in line. I know you've dealt with some of that firsthand. But he also spoke about moral courage. In this moment, where do you see moral courage right now? BUDDE: Where do I see moral courage? Well, I see it everywhere, Erica. I see it certainly in the—in the stance that the pope has taken. I see it in people across this country and around the world who are—who are insisting that there is a better narrative and a better way forward for us as a country. I see it in all manner of endeavors to try and rein in a government right now, our government, that has—that is being led by people with absolutely no accountability and the larger and larger platform with which to wreak considerable damage. And so, moral courage, we are seeing rise up across every spectrum of our country. And I think as the—as Raphael Warnock said so well, this is what moral courage looks like. It isn't remaining silent. It's not staying in some self-prescribed safe lane. It is looking at the issues that harm or protect human thriving, which is not about protecting one religion against another, but making sure that all of God's children can live with some modicum of peace and well-being.