Trump Picks the Wrong Fight with Pope Leo XIV

That United States President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV would not become friends was evident from the outset of the pontificate. An Augustinian, Robert Prevost was shaped profoundly by his years in South America, where he lived and worked in Peru first as a missionary and later as a bishop. Images of the then Bishop on horseback circulated around the world after the conclave.

By the time he assumed office as Prior General of the Augustinians, his outlook had become unmistakably global. It remained so during his tenure as a cardinal of the Roman Curia, to which Pope Francis elevated him in 2023. As head of the Church responsible for bishops worldwide, there is little room for insular American patriotism.

It is therefore no surprise that the pope has never had much affinity with the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement or the mindset of the US president. His first allegiance is not to the United States but to God.

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The President’s Naivety

It is reasonable to describe it as naive for the US president to have believed he could appropriate the first American pope for his government’s propaganda. That was never the case. Pope Leo XIV has repeatedly signalled how deeply he feels connected to his adopted home, Peru.

Beyond this emotional bond, he has been, from the outset, the pope of the universal Roman Church. He is sufficiently diplomatic to act largely neutrally, with measured openness, towards the US president. It is not the pope’s task to immerse himself too deeply in day-to-day politics. Speaking out on moral questions, including those relating to peace, is among his duties.

By contrast, the head of a secular state is not a religious leader. While Pope Leo is clear on this point, Trump has at times shown a tendency towards religious overreach and exaggeration in seeking the support of Christians. There is nothing objectionable in a president praying for himself in the Oval Office or receiving a blessing, nor in seeking the proximity of Catholic bishops. All of this is legitimate.

However, presenting himself in an AI-generated image on social media as a messiah performing a healing miracle falls somewhere between the ridiculous and the blasphemous, depending on one’s sense of humor in matters of religion. In doing so, Trump has damaged his public standing in ways that will be difficult to repair. Nor did it end there. Subtle threats directed at the pope, including allusions to historical comparisons with Avignon, appear distinctly absurd.

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Avignon Reloaded

In Avignon, from 1309 to 1376 – or 1377 according to other sources – seven popes resided under pressure from the French king. At the time, this was described as the captivity of the popes. Such comparisons can evoke vivid images among some Catholics, as if, at the president’s command, Marines might enter the Apostolic Palace and abduct the pope to Camp David.

To then publicly boast that Leo XIV became pope only with his assistance is an expression of sheer hubris. The pope did not ascend to the papacy because of Trump. He was elected by the cardinals of the Roman Church in prayer and invoking the Holy Spirit.

War is Never Good

A pope is elected and called to criticize the leaders of the world when they overstep the mark. One may advance political arguments in favor of a war against Iran. The pope would likely not dispute that such arguments exist. Yet one point remains clear. An attack on a state and the targeted killing of individuals, however reprehensible they may be, cannot be accepted by the pope without him raising his voice. His call to return to peace and dialogue is therefore a warning that state leaders would do well to heed.

A Catholic ethic of peace will always give priority to peace over war and will call for peace even in seemingly hopeless situations. This mandate for peace is proclaimed to Catholics each year at Easter. It was the first thing the risen Christ said to his disciples: “Peace be with you.”

The harsh reaction of US President Trump is both alarming and disturbing. In the case of Donald Trump in particular, who is not generally regarded as a warmonger but rather as a dealmaker inclined towards peace because war disrupts trade, such appeals ought to resonate.

Was it not Trump himself who announced a golden age and promised to end the war in Ukraine on the first day of his presidency? Here, the pope’s message should have struck home. The opposite has occurred. Trump is now squandering his already weak reputation in Europe. Even allowing for an initial benefit of the doubt, he has become almost impossible to defend.

Bishop Robert Barron, speaking in the White House garden, also said that Trump’s verbal attack on the pope had gone too far. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Trump Should Go to Canossa

If even Bishop Robert Barron, who has maintained links with the more Protestant-influenced circles of the MAGA movement, is now distancing himself from Trump and calling for an apology, the president would indeed be well advised to reflect and adopt a more measured tone. But this is unlikely. Trump’s ego will not permit it.

A glance at the history books might help the president understand why it is unwise to challenge a pope. Josef Stalin is often credited with asking how many divisions the pope commands. The answer was given, in a figurative sense, by Pope John Paul II: enough to pray the communists out of existence.

A visit by President Donald Trump to Canossa would be a fitting course.