The President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, has posted a message on social media in which he criticizes Pope Leo XIV and questions some of his positions on political and moral matters.
“Pope Leo is weak on crime and terrible on foreign policy”, Trump states at the beginning of his post.
In the same message, he points out that the Pontiff speaks of the “fear” of his administration, but does not mention, according to him, “the fear that the Catholic Church… had during COVID”, in reference to the restrictions on worship in various countries.
The US president also refers to international issues. “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon”, he writes, adding his rejection of certain positions attributed to the Pontiff in foreign policy.
In his message, Trump also questions the election of Leo XIV. “He wasn’t on any list to be Pope… and was only put there because he was American”, he claims, and adds that, in his opinion, “if I weren’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican”.
The text concludes with a reference to the Pontiff’s role: “Leo should focus on being a great Pope, not a politician”, and urges him to “stop pleasing the radical left”.
Response from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The message has received a response from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Archbishop Paul S. Coakley has publicly referred to the president’s statements.
“It saddens me that the president has chosen to write such disrespectful words about the Holy Father”, Coakley stated.
The archbishop added: “Pope Leo is not his rival; nor is the Pope a politician. He is the Vicar of Christ, who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls”.
Response from Leo XIV
Recently, during the flight to Algeria, Leo XIV referred to Donald Trump’s words, confirming the Pope’s first direct response to the President of the United States.