President Trump attacks Pope Leo XIV as “weak on crime” after papal peace vigil, deepening rift between the White House and the Vatican.
Newsroom (13/04/2026 Gaudium Press ) In the latest clash between religion and politics on the world stage, President Donald Trump unleashed a blistering attack on Pope Leo XIV with a string of barbed posts and remarks on April 12, calling the pontiff “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy.” The comments added fresh volatility to already-strained U.S.–Vatican relations as diplomatic efforts falter in the Middle East.
Pope Leo, the first U.S.-born pontiff, has consistently criticized armed interventions, including those waged by the U.S. and Israel against Iran on February 28. On the eve of Trump’s remarks, he led an evening prayer vigil for peace at St. Peter’s Basilica, urging an immediate cease-fire in conflict zones such as Sudan and Lebanon.
“I appeal to the parties in conflict to cease fire and urgently seek a peaceful solution,” the Pope said at the vigil, his message sharply contrasting with the White House’s hardened rhetoric.
Trump’s Social Media Offensive
Hours later, Trump took to his own social media platform, Truth Social, accusing the pontiff of leniency toward hostile regimes and indifference to American national security.
“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump wrote. “And I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do.”
The president went on to connect his criticism to domestic policy, boasting of record-low crime rates and a booming stock market. He also resurrected grievances from the COVID-19 era, accusing the Catholic Church of having shown “fear” during the pandemic.
Trump’s attacks grew unusually personal, referencing the Pope’s brother: “I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn’t!”
Vatican and Church Leaders Respond
The Vatican did not issue an immediate formal response, but Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, voiced rare public dismay.
“I am disheartened that the President chose to write such disparaging words about the Holy Father,” Coakley said in a statement late Sunday. “Pope Leo is not his rival; nor is the Pope a politician. He is the Vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls.”
Pope Leo himself has repeatedly emphasized that his advocacy for nuclear disarmament is rooted in humanitarian principle, not geopolitics. There is no evidence suggesting he supports Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Pope Leo: “I Have No Fear of the Trump Administration”
Speaking to NBC News, the pope brushed aside political backlash, saying, “I have no fear of the Trump administration,” and reiterating that his appeals for peace are “rooted in the gospel.”
“We are not politicians,” he said. “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.”
During a conversation aboard the papal flight to Algiers, Pope Leo told Reuters he had no interest in escalating the dispute. “I don’t want to get into a debate with him,” the Pope said. “I don’t think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing.”
Political Context and Diplomatic Fallout
The president’s outburst appears to have been triggered by a series of political and diplomatic setbacks. Vice President JD Vance had just returned from failing to secure concessions from Iran during 21 hours of negotiations in Islamabad, while Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán—Trump’s close ally—lost a national election on the same day.
The Free Press also ran a disputed report alleging the Vatican’s top diplomat in Washington was reprimanded at the Pentagon in January for Pope Leo’s criticism of operations in Venezuela. Both the Pentagon and the Vatican have denied the account.
In a subsequent exchange with reporters, Trump repeated his disdain for the pontiff, saying, “I don’t think he’s doing a very good job. I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo. He’s a very liberal person.”
Public Opinion Unmoved
Despite the president’s barrage, public polling suggests Pope Leo holds a commanding edge in American favorability. A recent NBC News survey placed the Pope at +34% net favorability, compared with Trump’s -12%, the widest gap between the two since Leo’s election to the papacy.
Trump, who claimed that the Church chose an American pope specifically to “deal with President Donald J. Trump,” argued that his influence even reached into Vatican decisions. “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican,” he wrote.
Whether the confrontation continues may depend on broader events in the Middle East, where both sides have deeply divergent visions: one rooted in diplomacy and spiritual appeals for peace, the other in raw political muscle and nationalist resolve. For now, the public feud between the American president and the American pontiff underscores an unsettling truth — that even faith and foreign policy can no longer remain separate in a political age of boundless outrage.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from OSV news, USCCB and SKy News
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