Donald Trump is accustomed to criticism from coast to coast 鈥� Democrats, disaffected Republicans, late-night comedians, massive protests. Yet in his second presidency, Trump鈥檚 most influential American critic doesn鈥檛 live in the country but at the Vatican.
It’s an unprecedented situation, with the directly assailing over the war in Iran, where a took hold this week. The announcement came after Pope Leo XIV declared that Trump’s belligerence was
Never before has the relationship between Washington and the Vatican revolved around two Americans 鈥� specifically, a 79-year-old politician from Queens and a 70-year-old pontiff from Chicago. They come from the same generation and share some common cultural roots yet bring jarringly distinct approaches to their positions of vast power. And the relationship comes with risks for both sides.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e two white guy boomers but they could not be any more different in their life experiences, in their values, in the way they have chosen to live those values,鈥� said theology professor Natalia Imperatori-Lee of Fordham University. 鈥淭his is a very stark contrast, and I think an inflection point for American Christianity.鈥�
Polar positions on Iran among U.S. Christians
Experts on the Catholic Church emphasized that Leo鈥檚 opposition to the war reflects established church teachings, not the reflexive politics of the moment.
鈥淔or the last five centuries, the church has been involved in a project of helping develop strong international norms,鈥� including the Geneva Conventions in recent centuries, said Catholic University professor William Barbieri. 鈥淚t is a very long-standing tradition rooted in Scripture and theology and philosophy.鈥�
Yet the U.S. administration, which has to conservative evangelical Protestant leaders, has for Trump鈥檚 war on Iran.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Americans to pray for victory 鈥渋n the name of Jesus Christ.鈥� When Trump was asked whether he thought God approved of the war, he said, 鈥淚 do, because God is good 鈥� because God is good and God wants to see people taken care of.鈥�
The Rev. , son of iconic Baptist evangelist , said of Trump that God 鈥渞aised him up for such a time as this.鈥� And Graham prayed for victory so Iranians can 鈥渂e set free from these Islamic lunatics.鈥�
Leo countered in his Palm Sunday message that God 鈥渄oes not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.鈥� He referenced an Old Testament passage from Isaiah, saying that 鈥渆ven though you make many prayers, I will not listen 鈥� your hands are full of blood.鈥�
While it’s not unusual for popes and presidents to be at cross purposes, it’s exceedingly rare for the leader of the Catholic Church to directly criticize a U.S. leader, and Leo later named Trump directly and expressed optimism that the president would seek 鈥渁n off-ramp鈥� in Iran.
An even stronger condemnation came after Trump warned of mass strikes against Iranian power plants and infrastructure, writing on social media that 鈥渁n entire civilization will die tonight.鈥� Leo described that as a 鈥渢hreat against the entire people of Iran” and said it was “truly unacceptable.鈥�
Experts: Leo doesn鈥檛 see himself as a Trump rival
Imperatori-Lee said Leo鈥檚 direct criticism stands out from the church’s more general critiques of political and social systems. For example, Pope Francis without specifically mentioning Trump or his deportation agenda. Leo also previously .
鈥淧opes have critiqued unfettered capitalism before, very robustly. The popes have critiqued the Industrial Revolution, right? Things that the U.S. has been at the forefront of,鈥� Imperatori-Lee said, 鈥渂ut it鈥檚 never been this specific and localized.鈥�
She said Leo鈥檚 commentary resonates in the U.S. 鈥� with Catholics and non-Catholics 鈥� because he is a native English speaker.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no question about his inflection and meaning,鈥� she said. “It removes any ambiguities.鈥�
Trump welcomed last May as a 鈥済reat honor鈥� for the country, and he hasn’t responded to the latest criticisms. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
鈥淲hat Pope Leo and Donald Trump have in common is they both lived through the post-war polarization,鈥� including the political upheaval of the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam War, said Steven Millies, a professor at Chicago鈥檚 Catholic Theological Union, one of the pope鈥檚 alma maters.
He noted that Leo is a subscriber to The New York Times, plays the 鈥淲ordle鈥� game, keeps up with U.S. sports and talks regularly with his brothers, including an avowed Trump supporter.
鈥淚n some ways he鈥檚 just like us,鈥� Millies said, someone 鈥渨ho understands where our domestic political crisis came from,鈥� unlike the Argentinian Francis, 鈥渨ho did not fully understand the peculiarities of the United States鈥� even as he offered implicit criticism.
Barbieri said Leo鈥檚 American savvy still does not change an underappreciated reality of Catholicism and the papacy. 鈥淭he Catholic Church doesn鈥檛 neatly fit into either right or left boxes as they鈥檙e understood in U.S. politics,鈥� he said.
Leo鈥檚 global focus vs. Trump鈥檚 鈥榯ransactional鈥� politics
Leo spent much of his pre-papal ministry, including all his time as a bishop and cardinal, outside the U.S.
He was educated in Rome as a canon lawyer within the church. He was a bishop in poor, rural swaths of Peru. He led the Augustinian order and served as Francis鈥� prefect for recommending bishop appointees around the world.
Imperatori-Lee said that global reach gave him a first-hand perspective on how Washington’s economic and military policies 鈥� including backing dictators in Latin America 鈥� have negatively affected less powerful nations and their citizens.
His varied experiences made then-Cardinal Robert Prevost uniquely suited to be elected pope despite the College of Cardinals鈥� traditional skepticism toward the U.S. and its superpower status. Millies argued that Trump and his advisers, even Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, may not appreciate those distinctions.
鈥淭his is an administration that seems to think only in terms of transactional politics 鈥� who鈥檚 for us and who鈥檚 against us,鈥� he said.
Polarization poses risks for Leo and Trump
Relations between Washington and the Vatican have become so strained that a report of an allegedly contentious meeting involving Pentagon and Catholic Church officials sent shockwaves through both cities.
According to the report in The Free Press, a member of Trump’s administration warned the church in January not to stand in the way of U.S. military might.
The Vatican on Friday issued a statement rejecting the report’s characterization of the meeting, saying it 鈥渄oes not correspond to the truth in any way.鈥�
The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See also pushed back, writing on social media that 鈥渄eliberate misrepresentation of these routine meetings sows unfounded division and misunderstanding.鈥�
Millies, meanwhile, questioned whether anything the pope or U.S. bishops say can sway individual Catholics. Trump is likely to lose support among Catholics as he loses support across the broader electorate, Millies said, but that’s not necessarily because members of Leo’s flock are applying church doctrine.
鈥淧artisan preferences always trump the religious commitments,鈥� Millies said, describing a 鈥渄isconnect鈥� between church leaders and many parishioners who look to other sources, politicians included, when shaping their views of faith and politics.
鈥淭he icon of Catholicism in American politics now is JD Vance, and it鈥檚 more about winning an argument,” he said. “It鈥檚 a very different emphasis, but it鈥檚 one that may suit the Trump administration very well.鈥�
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Associated Press reporters Nicole Winfield in Rome and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed.
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