Takeaways From the Trump vs. Pope Leo Debacle
EDITORIAL: If, God willing, this surreal episode is coming to a close, it’s a good time to reflect on some of the lessons we can learn from it.
Could we be nearing a cessation of hostilities in one of the world’s most senseless conflicts? Let’s hope so.
We’re speaking of the fierce criticism President Donald Trump has leveled this past week against Pope Leo XIV, which has stunned and deeply offended many of the president’s Catholic supporters.
In a series of diatribes — coupled with a sacrilegious AI-generated image, which Trump posted on social media and later took down, depicting himself dressed like Jesus — the president repeatedly accused the American-born Pontiff of liberal politicking, chafing at his vocal opposition to the U.S.-led war with Iran and the Trump administration’s aggressive mass deportation of immigrants living in the country illegally.
Two of the administration’s most prominent Catholics, Vice President JD Vance and border czar Tom Homan, unhelpfully added fuel to the fire by suggesting that the Pope was sticking his nose where it didn’t belong — a view later echoed by House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Finally, on Thursday, the president appeared ready to turn down the heat, tempering his remarks somewhat as he told reporters expecting another broadside, “I have nothing against the Pope.”
“I want him to preach the Gospel,” Trump said. “I’m all about the Gospel.”
If it’s true that this surreal chapter in American political history is coming to a close, it’s a good time to reflect on some of the lessons we can learn from it.
President Trump appears to fundamentally misunderstand how the Catholic Church operates. Trump has worked hard to curry favor with Catholic voters, touting his role in overturning Roe v. Wade and his opposition to transgender surgeries for minors, among other pro-life and pro-family policies. As a businessman, however, Trump seems to view the Pope less as the spiritual shepherd of a 1.4-billion-member flock and more like the CEO of a global enterprise.
What appeared to trigger Trump’s initial outburst on Sunday evening wasn’t any specific statement by the Pope, but rather the appearance of three of Trump’s arch-critics in the U.S. episcopate — Cardinals Joseph Tobin of Newark, Blase Cupich of Chicago and Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C. — on the CBS News program 60 Minutes, a segment the network repeatedly promoted during its broadcast of the dramatic conclusion of the Masters golf tournament. Rather than direct his umbrage at those prelates, the president lashed out at their boss, perhaps under the false impression that they were mere branch managers executing the Pope’s strategic plan.
It’s the Pope’s job to promote peace. Most of the recent statements Pope Leo has made condemning war, including this week in Africa, apply equally to warring parties everywhere and anyone who invokes the Lord’s name to justify violence, including Iran’s mullahs. Trump may take it personally, but it is the role of the pope to preach peace and the role of politicians to practically attain it. Pope Leo must keep pushing civic leaders, as well as members of his own flock, to find nonviolent ways to resolve their disputes, even if it irritates those in power.
President Trump, too, has a history of peacemaking. His first administration brokered the historic Abraham Accords, and his first months after returning to the White House focused on peacemaking in myriad war zones around the world, including Gaza and Ukraine — efforts that, had it been someone other than Trump, might have earned a Nobel Peace Prize. Implicit in Trump’s over-the-top reactions is that he values, and feels he deserves, the Pope’s affirmation for, among other things, taking steps to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions, brokering a ceasefire in Gaza and sharply curtailing human trafficking at the border. The Pope, for his part, is calling Trump to his better angels because he understands that Trump has this capability.
Catholic teaching doesn’t fit neatly into political boxes. Nor should it be shoved into a “religion” box. The religious freedom that is our indelible right isn’t merely the freedom to worship. People of faith, including Pope Leo, have a right to bring their beliefs into the public square. Having experienced the terrible history of anti-Catholicism in this country, including false accusations of divided loyalties to the country and the Church, Catholics in every generation need to understand and defend this right. That includes speaking out against “stay in your lane” rhetoric that implies that a Catholic viewpoint isn’t welcome where politics is concerned. The reality is that politics and morality are intertwined, not separate. And if waging war doesn’t qualify as a moral issue, what does?
President Trump is treading on thin ice with Catholic voters. Removing references to the right to life from the GOP platform, furthering the massive destruction of embryonic human life in his backing of the in vitro fertilization industry, and reneging on his promise to cut off federal support for Planned Parenthood and avoid entanglements in foreign wars had already dismayed many of the Catholic voters whose support proved so critical to his reelection. Now, by attacking the Pope, he’s adding insult to injury.
What now? As faithful Catholics, we should join with the Pope in praying for a just and peaceful resolution to the crisis in the Middle East. At the same time, the president would be wise to restrain himself from imprudent distractions, like his dispute with Pope Leo, and stay focused on bringing the war to a close and delivering on his promises to Catholics and all Americans. If not, it’s not the news cycle he’ll lose, but the midterms, as well.
- Keywords:
- president donald trump
- pope leo xiv
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