Amid the war in Iran, growing issues in immigration enforcement and posting images considered by some to be offensive, President Donald Trump is picking a fight with Pope Leo XIV.
Leo became the first pope from the U.S. after the death of Pope Francis. Leo is considered to have more moderate views compared to his predecessor, but he shares with Francis the same views on climate change and migration.
Following the start of the war in Iran, Pope Leo gave the Urbi et Ori, a blessing given every Easter Sunday, where he said, “We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent. Indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people. Indifferent to the repercussions of hatred and division that conflicts sow. Indifferent to the economic and social consequences they produce, which we all feel.”
Pope Leo has since frequently called on the war in Iran to end and for peace talks between Iran and the U.S. to resume. Martin O’Connor, the university’s campus chaplain and professor in the fire science and emergency management department said, “It’s clearly a difficult one for the Pope because I think he was drawn into this against his will, but he feels compelled to respond because of the nature of the war.”
O’Connor also mentioned the “just war” theory from St. Augustine of the fifth century. The pope also has studied this and is well-versed in it. U.S. officials have used it to try justifying the war in Iran. But “despite what the vice president (J.D. Vance) says, the war in Iran cannot be justified on that basis,” O’Connor said.
Amid the criticism, Trump has repeatedly attacked the pope’s views, such as a Truth Social post where he wrote, “Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” Following the post, the pope said that he was neither afraid nor intimidated by Trump’s attacks and that he would continue to speak on the war. Pope Leo also criticized those who spend billions of dollars on war, but later said that comment was not aimed at Trump.
Leo has also been supportive of migrants and has urged nations to care for them, as he criticized the U.S.’s current immigration policies. At a press conference after a trip across African nations, Pope Leo said, “They are human beings, and we have to treat human beings in a humanitarian way and not treat them worse… than house pets or animals.” The pope has also previously criticized the mass deportations of migrants and a lack of access to basic needs in detention centers.
After his post on Truth Social criticizing Leo, Trump posted an artificial intelligence generated image of himself dressed like Jesus and putting his hand on the forehead of a sick man. The post was later deleted, but Trump refused to apologize for the post, and said he wasn’t supposed to be considered a religious figure.
“I viewed that as a picture of me being a doctor in fixing — you had the Red Cross right there, you had, you know, medical people surrounding me,” said Trump.
Religious and faith leaders in New Haven gathered after the post, and were led by Bishop William J. Barber II who criticized Trump’s actions and what he called a misuse of religion.
“I can only say as someone who is a practicing Roman Catholic it was highly offensive, and many members of the community I serve were not just offended but incensed by it,” said O’Connor.
Some students at the university also said they felt offended by the post. Samantha Latorelli, a graduate student in cellular and molecular biology said, “The picture looked like an insult on a Bible story that when I at least saw it, timed horribly with what week it was in the catholic calendar.”
