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Pope Leo XIV on Monday pledged to continue speaking out against the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, pushing back on President Donald Trump\u2019s scathing Sunday-night attack against the leader of the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n
Trump slammed the American-born Pope in a Truth Social post<\/a>, calling him \u201cWEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want a Pope who thinks it\u2019s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,\u201d Trump said. \u201cLeo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.\u201d<\/p>\n In a gaggle with reporters<\/a>, the president piled on.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s doing a very good job. He likes crime I guess,\u201d Trump said at Joint Base Andrews. \u201cI\u2019m not a big fan of Pope Leo. He\u2019s a very liberal person.\u201d<\/p>\n Reporter: Why did you attack Pope Leo?<\/p>\n Trump: I don\u2019t think he\u2019s doing a very good job. He likes crime I guess. We don\u2019t like a pope who says it\u2019s ok to have a nuclear weapon. We don\u2019t want a pope that says crime is ok. I am not a fan of Pope Leo. pic.twitter.com\/cj3oh1jSIL<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Acyn (@Acyn) April 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Leo, on his way to Algeria to kick off an\u00a011-day tour<\/a><\/span> across Africa, pushed back.<\/p>\n \u201cI have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do,\u201d Leo told reporters aboard the papal plane. \u201cWe are not politicians. We don\u2019t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, but I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker.\u201d<\/p>\n In response to a personal attack by President Donald Trump the night before, Pope Leo told journalists on the papal plane to Algeria:<\/p>\n \u201cI have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/zV6FuacGSM<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Courtney Mares (@catholicourtney) April 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Leo stressed that his remarks were not intended as attacks but doubled down on his anti-war stance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI will not shy away from announcing the message of the Gospel and inviting all people to look for ways of building bridges of peace and reconciliation, and looking for ways to avoid war any time that\u2019s possible,\u201d Leo told The Associated Press<\/a>. \u201cToo many people are suffering today, too many innocent people have been killed, and I believe someone must stand up and say that there is a better way.\u201d<\/p>\n Bishop Robert Barron, who serves on the Presidential Commission on Religious Liberty, said Trump owes Leo an apology.<\/p>\n \u201cThe statements made by President Trump on Truth Social regarding the Pope were entirely inappropriate and disrespectful,\u201d Barron said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The statements made by President Trump on Truth Social regarding the Pope were entirely inappropriate and disrespectful. They don\u2019t contribute at all to a constructive conversation. It is the Pope\u2019s prerogative to articulate Catholic doctrine and the principles that govern the\u2026<\/p>\n \u2014 Bishop Robert Barron (@BishopBarron) April 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Tensions between the White House and the Vatican have increased in recent weeks. On April 7, Pope Leo rebuked Trump\u2019s Easter-Sunday threat against the Islamic Republic of Iran as \u201ctruly unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n Leo has also criticized some of the Trump administration\u2019s immigration policies, calling the treatment of migrants in the United States \u201cextremely disrespectful<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s broadside against the Pope followed a Sunday-night \u201c60 Minutes<\/a>\u201d episode featuring prominent American cardinals, including Cardinal Joseph Tobin, who blasted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a \u201clawless organization.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen they have to hide their identities to terrify people, when they can actually violate other guarantees of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, well, I think somebody\u2019s got to call that out,\u201d Tobin said.<\/p>\n Cardinal Joseph Tobin criticizes the Trump administration\u2019s mass deportation campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen they have to hide their identities to terrify people, when they can actually violate other guarantees of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, well, I think somebody\u2019s got to call that\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/vvLuOLej18<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) April 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Conservative attorney Mike Davis, an ally of the Trump administration who grew up attending Catholic schools<\/a>, called the Cardinal a \u201cdisgrace.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s taking the side of illegals who kidnap, rob, rape, and murder innocent Americans. And smearing the good men and women of federal immigration enforcement,\u201d Davis said.<\/a> \u201cTrafficking illegals is a big moneymaker for the Catholic Church.\u201d<\/p>\n This cardinal is a disgrace.<\/p>\n He\u2019s taking the side of illegals who kidnap, rob, rape, and murder innocent Americans.<\/p>\n And smearing the good men and women of federal immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n Trafficking illegals is a big moneymaker for the Catholic Church. pic.twitter.com\/KUg4FLrXmX<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 Mike Davis \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@mrddmia) April 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n
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