Pope Leo XIV

‘I Will Continue to Speak Out Strongly Against War,’ Says Pope Leo in Face of Trump Abuse

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Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Pope Leo XIV gestures during a visit at the Maqam Echahid Martyrs’ Monument in El Madania, near Algiers on April 13, 2026. (Photo by Alberto Pizzoli / Pool / AFP via Getty Images)

“The message of the Gospel is very clear: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’

Pope Leo XIV on Monday said he would not back off his criticism of President Donald Trump’s war of choice in Iran after the president targeted him with an unhinged late-night social media rant.

In a Sunday Truth Social post, Trump accused Pope Leo of being “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” even though dealing with crime and running US foreign policy are not part of the pope’s job description.

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“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,” Trump wrote at the conclusion of his long tirade. “It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church!”

A short time later, Trump posted an artificial intelligence-generated image that depicted him as a Christ-like figure.

Pope Leo in recent weeks has been openly critical of the US war in Iran, taking particular issue with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claiming that the conflict was being waged in the name of Jesus Christ.

“This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” the pope said during a Palm Sunday sermon last month. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”

According to a Monday report from the Associated Press, the pope remained defiant in the face of criticism from the president.

“The message of the Gospel is very clear: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers,’” he said. “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 added that he is “not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel,” and insisted that “I will continue to speak out strongly against war, seeking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateralism among states to find solutions to problems.”

Trump’s attack on the pope drew a rebuke from Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who said it was reflective of a presidency circling the drain.

“ Donald Trump is flailing,” Kelly wrote in a social media post. “His war in Iran has led to the death and injury of American servicemembers and the death of Iranian children. He will attack anyone or anything to try to protect himself, even the Church that millions of Americans find faith and comfort in every day.”

Rep. Pramila Jayapal suggested that Trump’s anti-pope rant was more evidence that he is mentally unwell and should be removed from office.

“The deranged and disgusting post from Trump attacking Pope Leo should certainly help him appeal to the more than 50 million Americans who identify as Catholics,” she wrote. “Perhaps this will convince JD Vance to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office?”

Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he was “disheartened” that Trump “chose to write such disparaging words about the Holy Father.”

“Pope Leo is not his rival; nor is the pope a politician,” Coakley added. “He is the vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls.”

The Rev. James Martin said he doubted Pope Leo “will lose any sleep over” Trump’s rant, but added “the rest of us should” because “it is unhinged, uncharitable, and unchristian.”

Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

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Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
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Continue Reading‘I Will Continue to Speak Out Strongly Against War,’ Says Pope Leo in Face of Trump Abuse

Donald Trump launches extraordinary attack on Pope Leo calling him ‘weak’ and ‘terrible’

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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/13/donald-trump-pope-leo

Pope Leo XIV has been criticised by Donald Trump, who wrote that the pontiff should ‘stop catering to the Radical Left’. Photograph: Vatican Pool/Getty

President says US-born pope is ‘not doing a very good job’ and is ‘a very liberal person’ in unprecedented assault on leader of Catholic church

President Donald Trump has delivered an extraordinary broadside against Pope Leo XIV, saying he didn’t think the US-born leader of the Catholic church was “doing a very good job” and that he was “a very liberal person”, while also suggesting the pontiff should “stop catering to the Radical Left”.

Flying back to Washington from Florida on Sunday night, Trump used a lengthy social media post to sharply criticise Leo, then kept it up in comments on the tarmac to reporters.

“I’m not a fan of Pope Leo,” he said.

Trump’s comments came after Leo suggested over the weekend that a “delusion of omnipotence” was fuelling the US-Israel war in Iran. While it’s not unusual for popes and presidents to be at cross-purposes, it’s exceedingly rare for the pope to criticise a US leader – and Trump’s stinging response is equally uncommon.

“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” the president wrote in his post, adding: “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”

He repeated that sentiment in comments to reporters, saying: “We don’t like a pope who says it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon.”

Later, he posted a clearly AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure, appearing to “cure” a man.

An AI-generated illustration of Trump as Jesus. Illustration: TRUTH

Article continues at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/13/donald-trump-pope-leo

Continue ReadingDonald Trump launches extraordinary attack on Pope Leo calling him ‘weak’ and ‘terrible’

Pope urges ‘those who have the power to unleash wars’ to choose peace

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Pope Leo XIV delivers his “Urbi et Orbi” (to the City of Rome, and to the World) message from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica after celebrating the Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, on April 05, 2026. [Isabella Bonotto – Anadolu Agency]

In his first Easter Sunday message since assuming the papacy, Pope Leo XIV urged world leaders to choose peace and lay down their weapons instead of unleashing wars, Anadolu reports.

“Let those who have weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue! Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them!” said the pontiff, speaking from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

He said the world is growing accustomed to violence, with people resigned to it and becoming “indifferent” to the deaths of thousands of people, to the “repercussions of hatred and division that conflicts sow,” and their economic and social consequences.

“There is an ever-increasing ‘’globalization of indifference’,” Leo said. “We cannot continue to be indifferent! And we cannot resign ourselves to evil!”

“Let us abandon every desire for conflict, domination, and power, and implore the Lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by wars and marked by a hatred and indifference that make us feel powerless in the face of evil,” he added.

Leo assumed the helm of the Catholic Church last May.

READ: US President Donald Trump issues 48-hour ultimatum to Iran over Strait of Hormuz

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Continue ReadingPope urges ‘those who have the power to unleash wars’ to choose peace

Pope Leo Delivers ‘Rebuke’ of Pete Hegseth With Anti-War Palm Sunday Sermon

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Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Pope Leo XIV greets the crowd as he leaves after presiding over a mass at San Pancrazio cathedral at Albano Laziale on July 20, 2025 in Albano Laziale, Italy. (Photo by Ernesto Ruscio/Getty Images)

“This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war.”

Pope Leo XIV used his Palm Sunday sermon to take what appears to be a shot at US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

In his sermon, excerpts of which he published on social media, the pope emphasized Christian teachings against violence while criticizing anyone who would invoke Jesus Christ to justify a war.

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“This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” Pope Leo said. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”

The pope also encouraged followers to “raise our prayers to the Prince of Peace so that he may support people wounded by war and open concrete paths of reconciliation and peace.”

While speaking at the Pentagon last week, Hegseth directly invoked Jesus when discussing the Trump administration’s unprovoked and unconstitutional war with Iran.

Specifically, Hegseth offered up a prayer in which he asked God to give US soldiers “wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial ahead, unbreakable unity, and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy,” adding that “we ask these things with bold confidence in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus Christ.”

Mother Jones contributing writer Alex Nguyen described the pope’s sermon as a “rebuke” of Hegseth, whom he noted “has been open about his support for a Christian crusade” in the Middle East.

Pope Leo is not the only Catholic leader speaking against using Christian faith to justify wars of aggression. Two weeks ago, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, said “the abuse and manipulation of God’s name to justify this and any other war is the gravest sin we can commit at this time.”

“War is first and foremost political and has very material interests, like most wars,” Cardinal Pizzaballa added.

Original article by Brad Reed republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

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Continue ReadingPope Leo Delivers ‘Rebuke’ of Pete Hegseth With Anti-War Palm Sunday Sermon

Pope evokes Gazans facing harsh winter conditions in first Christmas blessing

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Pope Leo XIV delivers the Christmas’ “Urbi et Orbi” (“to the City and to the World”) message from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, on December 25, 2025. [Isabella Bonotto – Anadolu Agency]

Delivering his first Christmas Mass address from St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday, Pope Leo XIV evoked the plight of Gazans facing weeks of harsh winter conditions, alongside refugees and displaced persons worldwide, Anadolu reports.

“Since the Word was made flesh, humanity now speaks crying out with God’s own desire to encounter us. The Word has pitched His fragile tent among us. How, then, can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed to weeks of rain, and wind, and cold?” Pope Leo said.

He also drew attention to similar hardships faced by other refugees and displaced persons on every continent as well as homeless people living under “makeshift shelters.”

“Fragile is the flesh of defenseless populations tried by so many wars ongoing or concluded, leaving behind rubble and open wounds,” the pontiff said.

He cited the fragility of human life among young people forced to take up arms, saying those on the front lines “feel the senselessness of what is asked of them and the falsehoods that fill the pompous speeches of those who send them to their deaths.”

“Jesus wants us to touch human misery, to touch the suffering flesh of others. He hopes that we will stop looking for those personal or communal niches which shelter us from the maelstrom of human misfortune and instead enter into the reality of other people’s lives and know the power of tenderness,” the pope said.

Israel killed more than 71,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza and destroyed the enclave during its two-year war. A ceasefire was agreed upon in October but Israeli violations have continued unabated.

According to the Gaza government media office, more than 400 Palestinians have since been killed and over a thousand others injured in Israeli attacks.

READ: Channel 13: Witkoff confirm second phase of Gaza deal to start in early January

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Continue ReadingPope evokes Gazans facing harsh winter conditions in first Christmas blessing