President Donald Trump strongly criticized Pope Leo XIV on Sunday night, denouncing his stance on the Iran war and saying he’s “terrible for foreign policy.”
“We don’t like a pope that’s going to say that it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon. … He’s a man that doesn’t think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world,” Trump advised reporters, including, “I’m not a fan of Pope Leo.”
Leo, the primary American pope, has become increasingly vocal in regards to the US and Israel’s struggle with Iran, final week condemning Trump’s rhetoric and threats in opposition to the individuals of Iran as “truly unacceptable.”
That remark was prompted by Trump’s menace that “a whole civilization will die tonight” within the hours earlier than a two-week ceasefire with Iran was struck.
Both Trump and his protection secretary, Pete Hegseth, have invoked God in public messaging through the battle, with Hegseth framing the struggle effort as divinely supported and even utilizing scriptural justification.
Leo has pushed again in opposition to this concept.
“Jesus is the king of peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” he mentioned on Palm Sunday. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war but rejects them.”
The president’s remarks in regards to the pope on Sunday night time got here shortly after he posted a comparable prolonged critique of the pontiff on Truth Social.
“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” Trump wrote, going on to say he doesn’t need a pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon or who thinks it’s “terrible that America attacked Venezuela.”
After the US operation to seize Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January, the pope called for the “will of the Venezuelan people” to be revered and a return to stability within the nation.
“I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States,” Trump mentioned.
The president went on to say Leo “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.”
Responding to Trump’s feedback, Vatican Official Fr Antonio Spadaro, mentioned Trump was taking purpose at “a moral voice” as a result of he “cannot contain it.”
“Trump doesn’t debate Leo: he begs him to retreat into a language that he can dominate. But the Pope speaks another language, one that refuses to be reduced to the grammar of force, of security, of national interest,” mentioned Spadaro on X.
“The attack is a declaration of impotence … If Leo were irrelevant, he wouldn’t merit a word. Instead, he is called out, named, fought: a sign that his word cuts deep,” he mentioned.
Pope Leo has beforehand spoken out in opposition to the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
“The commitment to building a safer world free from the nuclear threat must be pursued through respectful encounters and sincere dialogue to build a lasting peace, founded on justice, fraternity and the common good,” he mentioned final June, as Trump was weighing putting Iran’s nuclear websites.
Trump’s feedback Sunday got here shortly after CBS News’ “60 Minutes” aired a story that includes senior American cardinals voicing their help for pope’s stance on the struggle and his earlier opposition to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
NCS has reached out to the White House on whether or not Trump was reacting to the “60 Minutes” report.
Shortly after Trump’s feedback, the president posted an image to Truth Social depicting himself as a Christ-like determine therapeutic a sick particular person with American flags and eagles within the background.
This story has been up to date with further info.