Just imagine: A President of the United States who can’t get along with the Pope.

This odd conflict cropped up last week when Pope Francis, returning from his trip to Mexico, said that a man who builds walls rather than bridges is “not a Christian.”

Potential president Donald Trump took offense, calling the Pope’s remarks “disgraceful.” He stopped just short of saying, “What a loser!”

I’m not a Catholic, but I like this pope. I’ll like him even more when he relaxes the church’s rules on contraception and the status of women. Nevertheless, it’s refreshing to hear him call out candidates who use their Christian faith as a tool to achieve political traction.

In fact, the pope could have hit Trump much harder. He didn’t mention the obligation of the followers of Christ to emulate his humility, love and compassion. He didn’t mention laying up treasures in Heaven rather than on Earth. Or loving your enemies. Turning the other cheek. Suffering the little children. And so on.

And what about this remarkably un-Christian position articulated last week during Trump’s town hall meeting in South Carolina?

In response to a string of questions, Trump turned readily to the familiar, well-rehearsed positions that he’s recited dozens of times, but this one stood out and should give us pause: He said that if he’s elected president, the United States will be a nation that unashamedly uses torture.

Sometimes we’ve split hairs over waterboarding. Some people say it’s torture. Others say it’s no worse than fraternity hazing. Trump blows right past this distinction. Of course we’ll waterboard, he says, but it’s “not nearly tough enough.” He’d do something “much worse,” “much stronger.”

In fact, he says, “Don’t tell me torture doesn’t work ... torture works.” So there it is, out in the open: A vote for Trump is a vote for torture.

Of course, the United States has used torture in the past, but we’ve usually had the good taste to be embarrassed about it and attempt to cover it up. Thus George W. Bush asserted that “this government does not torture people,” in the same way that Bill Clinton insisted, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”

Both men declared their innocence while maintaining a private, disingenuous definition of the offense.

No more of that. One of Trump’s virtues, integral to his appeal, is his willingness to speak his mind bluntly, without regard to anyone who might be squeamish about torture or, for that matter, national or international law.

Still, electing a president who is openly willing to accept a barbaric practice that we’ve spent centuries trying to abolish, feels like opening a door into a dark room with something very ugly inside.

Some political positions are matters of opinion and perspective; others — such as the use or non-use of torture — change who we really are.

Or maybe not. I may be overestimating the strength of Americans’ scruples about torture. After all, on Saturday night in South Carolina, Trump devastated opponents who are a little less willing to publicly advocate sinking to the level of brutality employed by, say, the Islamic State.

Torture is an ugly thing, but it’s not impossible to make a philosophical case for its use. Its proponents always turn quickly to the ticking-time-bomb scenario, and maybe even Pope Francis, in his pragmatism, would say that the brutal torture of a single terrorist in order to save thousands of innocent children can be justified.

But in practice, torture is almost never used in this fanciful way. Its practical value for extracting information is questionable.

Often it’s used as a weapon, to terrorize and intimidate the enemy. Sometimes it’s used for no real purpose except as a brutal manifestation of the inhumanity of war.

And politicians sometimes use the threat of torture to assert their manliness and willingness to use any end to achieve a goal, despite considerations of morality.

And on this alone the pope might have effectively questioned Trump’s devotion to the gospel of peace, love and forgiveness.

John M. Crisp, an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service, teaches in the English department at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas.