Holy Hell

The Pope holds his own against Trump

Credit: Getty Images

One might think an American pope would be good for an American president. After all, Catholicism is having a moment here, with conversions on the rise, especially among young people. More than half of American Catholics voted for Donald Trump in the last election. The vice president is Catholic, as is the secretary of state, and the first lady.

But forget all that. Nothing matters if Trump feels slighted. And right now, he is acting like a toddler in timeout.

These two men could not be more different. Pope Leo XIV is a measured, soft-spoken man of God whose holy mission is peace and unity. Trump is a bombastic narcissist, who is convinced peace can best be achieved through bombing — and is a constant divider, not a unifier.

Leo, who had stayed above the political fray since becoming pope last May, began to shift his stance with an impassioned speech following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January. “A diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force,” he told ambassadors to the Vatican. U.S. officials took it as a direct challenge to the Trump administration.

Soon after, Pentagon officials demanded a meeting with Vatican representatives, telling them the U.S. has the military might to do whatever it wants and that the Catholic Church had better get on its side, according to The Free Press.

The Catholic Church did not heed that threat. Instead, Leo issued appeals for peace, but as the war with Iran escalated, so did his criticism. On April 7, he took the rare step of calling out a political leader after Trump’s social media threat to wipe out “a whole civilization,” calling the sentiment “truly unacceptable.”

On Friday, Leo posted a direct condemnation on social media. “Absurd and inhuman violence is spreading ferociously… God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs.”

During an evening prayer service at the Vatican on Saturday, the pope called out the “delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive… Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life,” he said.

The subject of his pointed remarks wasted little time responding.

In a lengthy and scathing social media rant on Sunday, Trump retorted, “Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy…” Later telling reporters, “I’m not a big fan.”

Because everything in his world revolves around Trump, he suggested that the only reason Leo was even elected pope is “because he was an American, and [the Vatican] thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.”

Trump followed his diatribe by posting an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus Christ healing the sick. It has since been taken down.

In a hastily arranged photo op at the White House, the president admitted he posted the photo but said it had no messianic meaning. With a straight face, he said it depicted him as a doctor.

Democrats have long decried the president’s mental status, and now Republicans are joining in, some even suggesting he needs to be removed from office. After his genocidal “whole civilization” post, The New York Times wrote, “… never in modern times has the stability of a president been so publicly and forensically debated — and with such profound consequences.”

On Monday, during the first leg of a 10-day trip to locations in Africa that have been hard hit by the loss of U.S. aid, Pope Leo told reporters, “I have no fear of the Trump administration, nor of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel. And that’s what I believe I am called here to do.”

When asked specifically about Trump’s Truth Social post, he said, “It’s ironic — the name of the site itself. Say no more.”

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

Quite the irony — Trump, who for years actively campaigned for the Nobel Peace Prize, is now attacking the pope for advocating peace.

Trump has picked a fight with one of the holiest and most popular men in the world, who represents 1.4 billion Catholics, 53 million of whom are American. At the same time, he publicly embraced one of today’s longest-reigning authoritarians, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Trump and Orbán have been members of a mutual admiration society since the president’s first administration. The Hungarian leader lent Trump support and his playbook. Many of Orbán’s authoritarian tactics, including manipulating the media, stacking the judiciary, and attempting to control elections, have been embraced and employed by the president.

Trump dispatched the vice president to Hungary last week, a trip paid for by the American taxpayer, to prop up his old friend. At a campaign rally in Budapest, JD Vance said, without irony, that he was there, “Because what the United States and Hungary together represent under Viktor’s leadership and under President Trump’s is the defense of Western civilization.”

As if sending the Vice President of the United States to campaign for a foreign strongman wasn’t enough, Trump joined the rally via speakerphone, saying, “I love Hungary and I love Viktor!”

Vance’s attempt at help fell flat. On Sunday, after 16 years of autocratic rule, the Hungarian people said enough. Orbán was trounced in a landslide by Péter Magyar. The victory was so decisive, Orbán didn’t even try to contest the election and conceded just hours after the polls closed.

Although sometimes flawed, moral authority has been an essential component of American strength and leadership for 250 years. Time and again, Trump’s behavior and actions have severely damaged that claim at home and abroad. Now, with what he has done in the cases of Pope Leo and Viktor Orbán, he has deepened the damage.

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Stay Steady,
Dan