_WHAT’S HAPPENING_
President Donald Trump has launched his sharpest public attack yet on Pope Leo XIV, calling the American-born pontiff “weak” and “terrible” over his opposition to US military action in Iran and other policy disputes. In a lengthy Truth Social post on Sunday and subsequent remarks to reporters, Trump said the Pope should “focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.”
Pope Leo and top Catholic officials have come out strongly against the Iran conflict, saying that it does not meet the criteria for a just war. Leo later responded that he has “no fear” of the Trump administration and will continue preaching peace.
_THE FACTS_
Trump called Pope Leo "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” criticizing the pontiff's stance on Iran and Venezuela.
Pope Leo recently condemned the Iran war as driven by a “delusion of omnipotence,” urging those involved to halt fighting and pursue negotiations.
Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, suggested that “it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality … and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy.”
The president claimed Leo "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."
Pope Leo responded Monday: "I have no fear of the Trump administration" and stated he would not "shy away from announcing the message of the Gospel."
Bishop Robert Barron, a popular Catholic representative and Trump appointee to the Religious Liberty Commission, called the president’s statements "entirely inappropriate and disrespectful" and said the president owes the Pope an apology.
A March 2026 poll found only 40 percent of Catholic respondents approve of Trump's handling of the Iran conflict, while 60 percent disapprove.
Trump won 55 percent of the Catholic vote in 2024, a 12-point margin over Kamala Harris.
_OUR TAKE_
Pope Leo XIV and the Vatican have not just opposed the Iran war, but nearly all wars and conflicts around the world, from the Russo-Ukrainian war to the brutal civil war raging in Sudan. But although there are many justifications for the war against Iran, Catholics — who made up a significant voting bloc of Trump’s in 2024 — are now shifting away as the Roman pontiff takes a clear position against it.
The clash between Trump and Pope Leo also represents uncharted territory for both the administration and the Vatican. A prolonged feud with Rome puts the White House in an awkward position, especially considering two of Trump’s right-hand men — Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — are both Catholic. The only choice they have is to evade the spat with the Vatican while asserting the war is just, even while Rome’s top clerics disagree.
