Trump has criticised the Pope for his stance on the conflict in Iran
He wrote about this on Truth Social.
In his post, Trump levelled several accusations against Pope Leo XIV:
- Weakness on crime. Trump stated that the Pope ‘does not mention the fear’ felt by the Catholic Church during COVID-19, when ‘priests, pastors and everyone else’ were being arrested for holding services, even at a distance of 10–20 feet.
- Iran’s nuclear programme. “I don’t want a Pope who thinks Iran can have nuclear weapons,” Trump wrote.
- Venezuela. The President condemned the Pope’s stance on a US attack on Venezuela, calling the country a “source of massive drug shipments” and “empty prisons”.
Trump praised Pope Leo’s brother, Louis, noting: “I like him much better because Louis is a true MAGA.”
The US President also claimed that Leo XIV was not on the list of candidates for the papacy, and that his election was a “shocking surprise”. According to the President, the Church chose an American to “deal with President Donald Trump as best as possible”.
“If I weren’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican,” he declared.
Trump concluded his post with an appeal to the Pope: “Use common sense, stop pandering to the radical left and focus on being a great Pope, not a politician.”
According to the Guardian, Trump’s remarks came after Pope Leo XIV expressed the view over the weekend that a “mania of omnipotence” was fuelling the war in Iran. Pope Leo led evening prayers in St Peter’s Basilica on the very day that the US and Iran began direct talks in Pakistan. The Pope did not mention the US or Trump by name, but his tone and message, writes The Guardian, were directed specifically at White House officials who boasted of US military superiority and justified the war with religious arguments.
