Pope Leo XIV clearly believes he answers to a higher authority than the president of the United States. On Thursday, he defied demands from Donald Trump and others in his presidential orbit, and once again weighed in on world affairs.
During a visit to Cameroon, the pope warned that the world is “being ravaged by a handful of tyrants.” The leader of the Catholic Church also noted, “Blessed are the peacemakers! But woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth.”
His visit was centered around the separatist conflict that has ravaged that region of the world, and he did not mention Trump by name, but it is impossible to ignore the parallels between Leo’s faith-based condemnation and Trump’s actions.
Trump has attacked Iran and threatened to kill that nation’s entire civilization. On social media, Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus Christ. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has constantly spoken about the attack on Iran purportedly being executed in the name of God and has asserted that America’s actions in the region are holy.
The pope has condemned the war and called for peace, which has raised the ire of the Trump team. Trump accused the pope of being “WEAK on Crime” for his opposition to the war, while Vice President JD Vance said the pope should “be careful when he talks about matters of theology,” and implied that his comments opposing the conflict as an unjust war were not “anchored in the truth.”
Clearly, the pope is not abiding by the Trump administration’s demands for his silence.
Simultaneously, he received institutional support from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. In a release on Wednesday, the conference released a statement asserting that the pope’s comments were a part of the “long tradition” of the Catholic Church’s “just war theory.”
“The consistent teaching of the Church is insistent that all people of good will must pray and work toward lasting peace while avoiding the evils and injustices that accompany all wars,” said Bishop James Massa, chairman of the conference’s committee on doctrine.
Unlike Trump, whose approval rating has declined by double digits since being sworn in last year, the pope is popular. In a Gallup poll conducted last July, Pope Leo XIV had a 57% favorability rating and was the most popular of the 14 newsmakers surveyed. In that same poll, Trump had a 41% favorability rating.
