The pope does not fear Trump - and that is exactly the problem for Trump

Pope Leo XIV is sitting aboard his plane on the way to Algeria and speaking with journalists. He says he does not fear the Trump administration. He will continue to speak for peace, continue to seek bridges, continue to say what he believes to be the role of the Church in the world. To place his message on the same level as what Trump is trying to do shows a misunderstanding of the Gospel, Leo said. “Too many people are suffering today, too many innocents have been killed, and I believe someone must stand up and say that there is a better way.”

This is not a declaration of war. It is a prayer. Trump understood it as an attack.

See also our article: Trump against the Pope - because now the Church, too, is expected to be silent

On Sunday, Trump published a long post on social media in which he described Leo as weak on crime, liberal, and disastrous in foreign policy. He said he did not want a pope who thinks it is acceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. He did not want a pope who criticizes America for attacking Venezuela - a country that has sent massive amounts of drugs into the United States and emptied its prisons. He did not want a pope who criticizes a president who was elected in a landslide victory and is doing exactly what he was elected to do. Then Trump wrote that Leo should prefer his brother Louis to Leo - because Louis is “full MAGA” and understands it. Leo does not.

And then the sentence that has to be read twice: “If I were not in the White House, Leo would not be in the Vatican.” The first American pope in history owes his position, according to Trump, solely to the fact that the Church believed an American would be the best way to deal with Trump. Leo was not on any list for the papacy and was only elected for that reason. Trump also accused Leo of meeting with David Axelrod - whom he described as a loser from the left who belongs to those who wanted to have churchgoers and clergy arrested during Covid. At the end, Trump told Leo to get his head together, use common sense, become a great pope instead of a politician - because that harms Leo himself and, more importantly, the entire Catholic Church.

After landing on Air Force One, Trump continued speaking to reporters on the tarmac. Leo is not doing a good job, he said. “He likes crime, I guess.” And: “He is a very liberal person.”

Leo responded aboard the papal plane calmly and without hesitation. He would not enter into a debate. His words are not attacks on anyone. The message of the Gospel is clear: blessed are the peacemakers. He will not shrink from proclaiming this message and inviting all people to seek paths of peace and reconciliation and to avoid war whenever possible. “We are not politicians. We do not look at foreign policy from the same perspective as he does.” He will continue to speak out loudly against war, continue to promote dialogue and multilateralism between states. And he does not fear the Trump administration.

Over the weekend, while peace talks were taking place in Pakistan, Leo prayed for peace in St. Peter’s Basilica. He did not name Trump. He did not name the United States. He spoke of the “delusion of omnipotence” that drives wars - and Trump recognized that he was being addressed. Earlier, when Trump threatened the destruction of Iranian power plants and wrote “an entire civilization will die tonight,” Leo had described such statements as “truly unacceptable.” He also referred to the Book of Isaiah: “Even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen - your hands are full of blood.” And he wrote that God does not hear the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.

Archbishop Paul Coakley, chairman of the American bishops’ conference, said he was dismayed by Trump’s words. The pope is not a political opponent. He is the vicar of Christ, speaking from the truth of the Gospel and for the souls of people. The Italian bishops’ conference expressed its regret and emphasized that the pope is not a political counterpart, but the successor of Peter, called to serve the Gospel, the truth, and peace. Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni - not a woman of quiet tones and not politically distant from Trump - nevertheless sent a message of solidarity for Leo’s peace mission. Opposition leader Elly Schlein called Trump’s attacks “extremely serious.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had previously called on Americans to pray in the name of Jesus Christ for victory in the war against Iran. Trump himself said he believes God supports the war - because God is good, and God wants people to be provided for. On one side, then, a pope who says God does not hear the prayers of those who wage war. On the other, a president and his defense secretary who invoke God for their war.

Trump won 55 percent of the Catholic vote in the 2024 election. Now he is in open conflict with the head of their Church. Leo is the first American pope in history. Trump claims he exists only because of him.

Leo is flying to Africa. His eleven-day trip has just begun. He continues to speak. He continues to pray. He is not afraid.

Sometimes the most dangerous response to power is not a counterattack - but the simple, quiet refusal to be intimidated. Trump knows that. That is why it bothers him so much.