Trump launches scathing attack against American pontiff.
US president Donald Trump launched a stinging public attack on Pope Leo XIV on Sunday night, calling the first American-born pontiff “WEAK on crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy” in a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform.
The unprecedented attack has its roots in escalating tensions over the US-led war against Iran and, before that, Trump’s domestic immigration policies.
Last week the US president threatened that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran failed to reach a deal by a specified deadline – remarks that drew swift condemnation from the Vatican.
Pope Leo denounced the threat, telling reporters it was “truly unacceptable,” and called on all people of goodwill to “search, always for peace and not violence.”
In recent weeks, Leo had sharpened his public rebukes, moving from prayers for peace to a rare condemnation of the president’s rhetoric.
The pope also highlighted the wider consequences of the conflict, warning that attacks on civilian infrastructure violate international law and that the ongoing instability in the Middle East was “provoking more hatred throughout the world.”
Trump’s response
In his Truth Social post, Trump said he didn’t think that Pope Leo is “doing a very good job”, describing him as “a very liberal person,” while suggesting the pontiff should “stop catering to the Radical Left.”
Trump also made the extraordinary claim that he was personally responsible for Leo’s elevation to the papacy. “Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise. He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican,” Trump wrote.
Trump criticised Leo for meeting with David Axelrod, a former adviser to President Barack Obama, writing that Leo should “stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.”
Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, he said: “I don’t think he’s doing a very good job. He likes crime, I guess. We don’t like a pope that’s going to say that it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon. I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo.”
Vigil for peace
The president’s comments came one day after Leo, during a prayer vigil for peace at St Peter’s, denounced what he called a “delusion of omnipotence” in the conduct of the war, without mentioning the US or Trump by name.
On the same weekend, Cardinal Robert McElroy, the archbishop of Washington DC, gave a homily declaring the war with Iran “immoral” and urging the faithful to speak out, drawing applause from the congregation.
Pope Leo departs on Monday for an 11-day trip to Africa, during which he will visit four countries: Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, Equatorial Guinea.
The Vatican did not immediately respond to media requests for comment on Trump’s outburst.
Photo credit: noamgalai / Shutterstock.com
