After former President Donald Trump said he wanted “to try to get to heaven, if possible” as he’s been working to broker the peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, one Catholic priest took up the challenge of explaining what that actually requires of Christians.

Jesuit priest James Martin responded in a letter published in America Magazine, addressing the president directly. He began by echoing Trump’s hopes for the afterlife. “I can understand how working toward peace would awaken within you the desire to continue to do good and also turn your thoughts to heaven,” he wrote. The desire for heaven is a “universal human longing for union with God.”

Then, Martin, who also serves as editor-at-large of America magazine, continued with a question: “So where does one go from here? How do any

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