Response to Trump’s Accusations
Pope Leo has firmly stated that he has never supported nuclear weapons and urged critics to be truthful in their assessments, following US President Donald Trump’s recent accusations that the pope is “endangering a lot of Catholics” with his position on the Iran conflict.
On Tuesday evening, after departing the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo near Rome, the first US-born pontiff declared:
“The mission of the church is to preach the gospel, to preach peace.”
Leo, who is scheduled to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican on Thursday to help ease tensions arising from Trump’s prior criticisms, called for honesty in political discourse.
He added:
“If anyone wants to criticise me for proclaiming the gospel, let them do so with the truth: the church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons for years, there is no doubt about that. I simply hope to be listened to because of the value of God’s word.”
Earlier that day, Trump told Hugh Hewitt, a well-known conservative radio talk show host:
“The pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s OK for [Iran] to have a nuclear weapon, and I don’t think that’s very good. I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people. But I guess if it’s up to the pope, he thinks it’s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
Background of Tensions Between Trump and the Pope
In April, Trump criticized Pope Leo in response to the pontiff’s condemnation of the war on Iran, labeling him as “weak on crime” and “terrible on foreign policy.” Trump also claimed Leo was only elected pope because Trump was in the White House at the time. Subsequently, Trump shared an AI-generated image portraying himself as a Christ-like figure, which he later deleted.
Leo will mark his first anniversary as pope on Friday. He frequently visits Castel Gandolfo at the beginning of the week, typically leaving on Tuesday nights and occasionally engaging with journalists. However, prior to Trump’s recent outburst, the pope had not planned to make any public remarks this week.
Andrea Vreede, a correspondent for the Dutch public radio and TV network NOS, noted:
“We were told yesterday that there would be no papal chat. But there was, because he thought it was necessary and it was necessary.”
Vreede further commented on the escalating tension:
“Things have become really tense because Trump isn’t talking about the church or Vatican, but Leo; he has made it personal. We’re back to the middle ages when holy Roman emperors and popes did this kind of [thing], used this kind of language.”
Upcoming Meeting with Marco Rubio
The meeting between Pope Leo and Marco Rubio will be the first known private audience the pope has had with a member of Trump’s cabinet since Rubio and US Vice-President JD Vance met the pope a day after his papal inauguration mass in May of the previous year.
US Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch described the upcoming discussion as a “frank” conversation. Rubio has downplayed the existing rift between the US administration and the Vatican, stating:
“Obviously we had some stuff that happened but there was a lot to talk about with the Vatican.”
On Friday, Rubio is also scheduled to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whom Trump criticized in April after she condemned his remarks against Pope Leo. Trump lambasted Meloni’s government for not supporting strikes on Iran and threatened to withdraw US troops from Italy as a consequence.
According to Andrea Vreede, Rubio’s meeting with the pope, which the US secretary of state has sought for several weeks, may have an additional purpose:
“For Leo, it’s important to have a photo moment with Rubio and then release a short statement saying they are continuing their dialogue and all want world peace. Privately, it won’t be a nice talk, it cannot be a nice talk … but Rubio needs to keep the diplomatic channels with the Vatican open as he’s thinking about himself [ahead of the US presidential elections] in 2028.”
Vreede also suggested that Trump’s rivalry with Rubio might have triggered his latest outburst:
“He believes in rivalry, in winning … perhaps he’s trying to interfere with Rubio because Rubio is being a bit too diplomatic.”
