Pope Leo XIV on Monday pledged to continue speaking out against the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, pushing back on President Donald Trump’s scathing Sunday-night attack against the leader of the Catholic Church.
Trump slammed the American-born Pope in a Truth Social post, calling him “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”
“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump said. “Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.”
In a gaggle with reporters, the president piled on.
“I don’t think he’s doing a very good job. He likes crime I guess,” Trump said at Joint Base Andrews. “I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo. He’s a very liberal person.”
Reporter: Why did you attack Pope Leo?
Trump: I don’t think he’s doing a very good job. He likes crime I guess. We don’t like a pope who says it’s ok to have a nuclear weapon. We don’t want a pope that says crime is ok. I am not a fan of Pope Leo. pic.twitter.com/cj3oh1jSIL
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 13, 2026
Leo, on his way to Algeria to kick off an 11-day tour across Africa, pushed back.
“I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do,” Leo told reporters aboard the papal plane. “We are not politicians. We don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, but I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker.”
In response to a personal attack by President Donald Trump the night before, Pope Leo told journalists on the papal plane to Algeria:
“I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what… pic.twitter.com/zV6FuacGSM
— Courtney Mares (@catholicourtney) April 13, 2026
Leo stressed that his remarks were not intended as attacks but doubled down on his anti-war stance.
“I will not shy away from announcing the message of the Gospel and inviting all people to look for ways of building bridges of peace and reconciliation, and looking for ways to avoid war any time that’s possible,” Leo told The Associated Press. “Too many people are suffering today, too many innocent people have been killed, and I believe someone must stand up and say that there is a better way.”
Bishop Robert Barron, who serves on the Presidential Commission on Religious Liberty, said Trump owes Leo an apology.
“The statements made by President Trump on Truth Social regarding the Pope were entirely inappropriate and disrespectful,” Barron said.
The statements made by President Trump on Truth Social regarding the Pope were entirely inappropriate and disrespectful. They don’t contribute at all to a constructive conversation. It is the Pope’s prerogative to articulate Catholic doctrine and the principles that govern the…
— Bishop Robert Barron (@BishopBarron) April 13, 2026
Tensions between the White House and the Vatican have increased in recent weeks. On April 7, Pope Leo rebuked Trump’s Easter-Sunday threat against the Islamic Republic of Iran as “truly unacceptable.”
Leo has also criticized some of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, calling the treatment of migrants in the United States “extremely disrespectful.”
Trump’s broadside against the Pope followed a Sunday-night “60 Minutes” episode featuring prominent American cardinals, including Cardinal Joseph Tobin, who blasted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a “lawless organization.”
“When they have to hide their identities to terrify people, when they can actually violate other guarantees of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, well, I think somebody’s got to call that out,” Tobin said.
Cardinal Joseph Tobin criticizes the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign.
“When they have to hide their identities to terrify people, when they can actually violate other guarantees of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, well, I think somebody’s got to call that… pic.twitter.com/vvLuOLej18
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) April 12, 2026
Conservative attorney Mike Davis, an ally of the Trump administration who grew up attending Catholic schools, called the Cardinal a “disgrace.”
“He’s taking the side of illegals who kidnap, rob, rape, and murder innocent Americans. And smearing the good men and women of federal immigration enforcement,” Davis said. “Trafficking illegals is a big moneymaker for the Catholic Church.”
This cardinal is a disgrace.
He’s taking the side of illegals who kidnap, rob, rape, and murder innocent Americans.
And smearing the good men and women of federal immigration enforcement.
Trafficking illegals is a big moneymaker for the Catholic Church. pic.twitter.com/KUg4FLrXmX
— 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) April 13, 2026
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