By Mark Haas
Crisis Magazine
August 25, 2025
Donald Trump recently made a strikingly personal comment:
I want to try and get to heaven if possible. I'm hearing I'm not doing well. I hear I'm really at the bottom of the totem pole. But if I can get to Heaven, this will be one of the reasons.
By "this" he was referring to his diplomatic work toward peace agreements.
Indeed, Trump has played a major role in brokering recent peace deals in troubled regions-between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and India and Pakistan. He has also sought to bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table. The question arises: Can such incredible work bring a man to Heaven?
Ultimately, the answer of Heaven must not begin with political leaders, nor with humanitarian accomplishments, but with Jesus Christ Himself. Our Lord declared in the Gospel of John: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). Salvation is not attained through human achievement, however noble, but through Christ, who is the only Savior of mankind.
St. Peter proclaimed before the Sanhedrin: "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). A person might be praised for diplomacy, philanthropy, or inventions that change the world, but none of those things can substitute for the grace of God that alone redeems us.
When Jesus revealed Himself as the Way to the Father, He also established a Church that would safeguard and proclaim that truth until the end of time. In Matthew's Gospel, He said to Simon: "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). This Church is not a mere human institution or voluntary association. It is the Bride of Christ and the Mystical Body of Christ, divinely instituted and guided by the Holy Spirit. Through her, the graces of Christ's death and Resurrection are communicated to the world.
The necessity of the Catholic Church was affirmed by the Second Vatican Council in the document Lumen Gentium:
This pilgrim church is necessary for salvation...Those cannot be saved who refuse to enter the church or remain in it, if they are aware that the Catholic Church was founded by God through Jesus Christ as a necessity for salvation." (Art. 14)
The same Council also acknowledged that God's mercy extends to those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ or His Church but sincerely seek the truth and strive to do His will (see Art. 16).
Pope Pius IX expressed this principle already in the 19th century when he wrote that those who are "invincibly ignorant" of the Catholic Faith but still live uprightly may, by God's grace, be saved. Still, for those who have been given knowledge of the truth, the obligation is serious.
Ultimately, the Catholic Church rejects the idea that salvation is attained by "faith alone" or "works alone." Instead, as St. Paul teaches, "By grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God-not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Salvation comes by grace, received in faith, which then produces works of love. St. James reminds us that "faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead" (James 2:17). St. Thomas Aquinas explained that faith is the root, charity the form, and good works the fruit of salvation: "Faith without charity is not true faith, but a lifeless faith."
The ordinary means by which Christ communicates His grace are the sacraments. Baptism is the beginning of the Christian life: "No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit" (John 3:5). St. Peter affirms with clarity: "Baptism saves you" (1 Peter 3:21). The Eucharist is the supreme gift that sustains the soul: "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you" (John 6:53). Confession, Confirmation, Matrimony, Holy Orders, and the Anointing of the Sick are, likewise, channels of sanctifying grace, drawing the believer deeper into the life of Christ.
At the same time, Christ demands more than a nominal faith or occasional ritual. He calls His disciples to do the will of the Father: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). St. John Chrysostom cautioned his flock: "It is not enough to bear the name of Christian, but we must also live the life of Christians." For this reason, the saints constantly remind us that salvation is a lifelong journey of cooperation with God's grace.
It is in this light that one must consider Trump's question about Heaven. Can brokering peace among nations win a soul eternal life? On a natural level, such work is admirable and praiseworthy. Bringing enemies to reconciliation, preventing bloodshed, and promoting the common good are indeed good works, and they align with the Christian call to be peacemakers. Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:9). Pope Benedict XV, who reigned during the First World War, wrote: "Nothing is more conformable to the office of Christ than to bring peace to men; therefore, nothing is more proper to Christians than to cultivate peace." Peacemaking is a real participation in Christ's work.
But while peacemaking is a sign of the Gospel at work in the world, it does not in itself open the gates of Heaven. Salvation is not earned like a political victory; it is a gift, received in humility. The Church reminds us soberly that no matter who we are, we must all face judgment: "It is appointed to a man to die once, and then the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). At that moment, neither political power nor worldly achievements will matter. What will matter is whether one has known Christ, lived in His grace, and loved God and neighbor. As St. John of the Cross said, "In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone."
Therefore, while Trump's efforts for peace are to be commended, they will not in themselves determine his eternal destiny. A good reminder for him, and for all of us, is to remain close to Jesus, to His Catholic Church, and to the sacraments that nourish us with grace. For the path to Heaven is not through international treaties or human acclaim but through the narrow way of the cross, walked in faith and sustained by God's mercy.
Ultimately, any judgment of Heaven comes from God alone. May our prayer for the president (and ourselves!) be that we all confess a love of Jesus Christ like St. Peter-"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God"-live as a faithful disciple, and receive the mercy of Christ poured out in His Church. The invitation stands before each of us, presidents and ordinary men alike: "Follow me."
This article was originally published on Crisis Magazine.