Trump, as people the world over should be well accustomed to by now, doesĀ notĀ respond well to criticism. Nor does he tend to entertain the idea that individuals arenāt fully onboard with what he is trying to do.
Ask the most fanatic MAGA supporters, and theyāll tell you itās one of his strengths. Ask people who arenāt ardent Trump loyalists, and youāll get a completely different answer, one likely implying that the POTUS handles obstacles and obstinate naysayers much like a five-year-old who hasnāt eaten dinner on time.
In any case, Pope Leo is one of the latest to find himself in Trumpās crosshairs, having called out the ongoing conflict in Iran and criticized the ādelusion of omnipotenceĀ that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive.ā
āEnough of the idolatry of self and money!ā Pope Leo said. āEnough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life.ā
Just a few days earlier, he had urged Trump and the other world leaders involved in the conflict to reconsider.

āI would simply say, once again, what I said in the āUrbi et Orbiā message on Sunday: asking all people of goodwill to search, always, for peace and not violence; to reject war, especially a war which many people have said is an unjust war, which is continuing to escalate and which is not resolving anything,ā the American-born pope said.
He further reminded Trump that striking civilian infrastructure is against international law.
āLetās remember especially the innocent children, the elderly, the sick, so many people who have already become or will become victims of this continued warfare.ā
Earlier today, April 13, Trump took to Truth Social to lambast Pope Leo, writing: āPope Leo is WEAK onĀ Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy. He talks about āfearā of theĀ TrumpĀ Administration, but doesnāt mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organizations, had duringĀ COVIDĀ when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside, and being ten and even twenty feet apart.

āI like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, andĀ LeoĀ doesnāt! I donāt want a Pope who thinks itās OK forĀ IranĀ to have a Nuclear Weapon. I donāt want a Pope who thinks itās terrible thatĀ AmericaĀ attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country.ā
Trump went on to speculate the Pope Leo owes his position to Trump becoming president, writing: āHe wasnāt on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump.ā
Responding to Trumpās tirade, Pope Leo toldĀ ReutersĀ that it was not his intention to become embroiled in a debate with the president.
āI donāt want to get into a debate with ā him,ā Leo told the outlet. āI donāt āthink that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused āin the way that some people are doing.ā
āI will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the āstates to look for just solutions to problems,ā he added.
āToo many people are suffering in theĀ worldĀ today,ā said Leo. āToo many innocent āpeople ā are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say thereās a better way.
āThe message of the church, my message, the message of the Gospel: Blessed are the Peacemakers. I do ānot look at āmy role as ā being political, a politician.ā
What do you make of the situation? Let us know in the comments.
