Pope Leo Responds to Attack by Trump, Saying He Has ‘No Fear’ of Speaking Out

President Donald Trump lashed out against Pope Leo XIV, accusing him of being “WEAK on Crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy,” as the leader of the Catholic Church recently emerged as an outspoken critic of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

“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 posted on Truth Social Sunday night. “It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church!”

The President’s lengthy broadside came after Leo—the first U.S.-born pontiff—last week denounced Trump’s threat to destroy Iran’s “whole civilization” as “truly unacceptable.” 

Leo responded to Trump's post on Monday by saying he had “no fear of the Trump ​administration, or speaking ⁠out loudly."

"I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue ​and ⁠multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems," Leo told reporters on a flight to Algiers.

"Too many people are suffering in the world today," he said. "Too many innocent people are being killed. ⁠And I think someone has to stand up and say there's a better way."

The Pope has avoided specifically referring to Trump in his criticism. But the Bishop of Rome again alluded to war in a prayer vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday. “Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!” the Pope said on April 11, the same day as U.S. and Iranian officials began unsuccessful peace negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan.

TIME has not immediately heard back from the Holy See for a response to Trump’s remarks.

Trump also attacked the Pope over his denunciation of the violence in the Middle East and the U.S. military campaign in Venezuela that captured its former President Nicolás Maduro earlier this year.

“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump said. “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America 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. And I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History.”

The President also added that he favored Leo’s brother, Louis Prevost, whom he called “all MAGA.” Prevost has previously said that he was a “MAGA type.” 

And Trump claimed, without basis, that Leo owed his papacy to him. “He wasn’t 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.”

At Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Sunday, Trump doubled down on his attacks—telling reporters that he was “not a big fan” of the Pope, whom he deemed a “very liberal person.”

Trump, who has a penchant for using lengthy posts on social media to attack his detractors, subsequently posted what appeared to be an AI-generated image depicting himself as someone with biblical powers, similar to that of Jesus Christ. The image shows Trump laying a glowing hand on a bedridden man, as various people, including a nurse, a soldier, and a woman with her hands clasped in prayer, look on in apparent awe. In the sky are images of an American flag, eagles, and what appear to be military forces.

The U.S. President and his Administration have used the Christian God to justify the war on Iran. A week ago, when asked if he thinks God approved of the U.S.’s actions against Iran and the Islamic regime, Trump replied: “I do—because God is good and God wants to see people taken care of.”

But the Pope has condemned the war and has, instead, pushed for negotiations toward a cease-fire. “Dear brothers and sisters, there are certainly binding responsibilities that fall to the leaders of nations,” Leo said in his April 11 homily. “To them we cry out: Stop! It is time for peace!”

In an April 10 post on social media, the Pope wrote, “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.” And in his Palm Sunday homily in March, the Pope said that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.”

Leo has also been critical of the Trump Administration’s immigration agenda. In September, the Pope suggested that people who support the “inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States” are not necessarily “pro-life,” prompting White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to respond that the Administration was “trying to enforce our nation’s laws in the most humane way possible.” As Trump ramped up his deportation campaign, including in the Pope’s hometown of Chicago, the Pontiff met with a group of Catholics from El Paso, Texas, in October who feared going to Mass could put them at risk of being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Catholics make up a large part of the U.S. voting population, and an AP VoteCast survey found that more than 50% of Catholic voters supported Trump in the November 2024 election. But Catholic leaders have been increasingly vocal against the war.

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement Sunday that he was “disheartened that the President chose to write such disparaging words” about the Pontiff. 

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