Pope Leo XIV presides over the Prayer Vigil for Peace at St Peter's Basilica, on April 11, 2026 in Vatican City, Vatican. Getty Images The Issue: Pope Leo XIV’s opposition to the US-Iran war, tweeting ”God does not bless any conflict.”
President Trump’s words about Pope Leo XIV are unfortunate, but what he is responding to is real (“Don’s holy seethe at Pope Leo,” April 14).
The pope’s focus is highly politicized — a biased response to the United States and Israel’s actions to halt the threat of violence from Iran.
Had Leo stated that waging war is evil, that would merely be a pacifist statement.
But his claims that God will not answer the prayers of those who wage war is an astounding assertion to anyone, especially Catholics, who believe God’s means and purposes are unknowable to man, and who also believe in God’s forgiveness.
He took yet another step down when he insulted Pope Leo.
I’m not religious but I always respect other people’s beliefs. I have utmost respect for Leo.
Trump is a lowlife, and his day of reckoning will come.
How anybody could still stand by him is really sad.
The pope should stay in his lane as the spiritual leader of Catholics around the world and not venture into politics, where he is indeed “fallible,” and open to criticism like Trump vented on him.
I truly hope Leo is not turning into a “woke” pope.
It makes you wonder why he removed beloved New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
I’m nearing 80 and, in my lifetime, I can’t remember the last time a pope was on the right side of righteousness.
The most recent popes have supported socialistic ideology far more than the protection of the masses.
Let’s not forget they did not speak up for the Jewish community before and during World War II.
And now they’re not supportive of Israel’s reaction to Hamas’ terrorist attack.
It was a very bad move by Trump to pick on Pope Leo, which will not sit well with the almost 1.5 billion Catholics in the world, of which approximately 60 million live in our country.
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as many other Cabinet members, are practicing Catholics.
Leo’s statements on the Iran war remind me of the old John Lennon song “Give Peace a Chance”: Sounds great, but in reality, it’s all empty words.
The wars by Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah, all funded by Iran, also aimed at destroying Christianity. Perhaps the pope should visit Iran and talk to its leaders about giving peace a chance.
Pope Leo’s hypocrisy is immeasurable considering the papacy initiated the Crusades to remove Muslims from the Holy Land starting in 1095.
These Vatican hypocrites also looked the other way when their clergy were sexually abusing the faithful, but now want to claim moral superiority over the United States, when its trying to eliminate a nuclear holocaust from Iran.
So now Trump has taken on the pope and claims he is responsible for Leo being selected.
I must have missed the Vatican caucus where the coveted Trump endorsement won the day.
More like Deranged Trump Syndrome, which has been on full display the last few weeks.
The media is delighted to display the dispute between Trump and Leo, hoping to diminish Catholic support for the president.
However, Trump’s response would not be forthcoming if the spiritual leader of the church didn’t initiate a fight by attacking the president’s decision to attack Iran.
The pope can certainly pray for peace and the end of war, but he can’t make political decisions about what’s necessary to achieve that peace.
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