In moments of war, nations reach for weapons. Leaders reach for words. And sometimes, dangerously, they reach for God. This week, the world saw a divide between two powerful men and two competing visions of moral authority.
On one side stands Donald Trump, the US President who has framed the war on Iran in terms of “divine purpose”.
On the other, Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pontiff, has issued a rebuke. God, he insists, does not take sides in war.
The latest flashpoint came after Trump shared an AI-generated image on Truth Social showing himself in a flowing, biblical robe; his hand glowing with ethereal light as he “healed” a bedridden man. Behind him, the stars-and-stripes flag flutters alongside soaring eagles and the silhouettes of fighter jets. A neo-Christian symbol of some kind, if you will.
Trump calls Pope Leo ‘weak’
The post followed a series of sharp attacks by Trump on the Pope, who has been a prominent critic of the war on Iran.
In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump accused the Pope of being “WEAK on Crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy,” and urged him to “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 wrote.
“It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church!” Trump added.
‘Continuous violations of international law’
In response, Pope Leo on Monday criticised “neocolonial” world powers for violating international law.
Speaking in Algeria at the start of his Africa tour, he asked leaders to build societies based on justice and solidarity. “Today, this is more urgent than ever in the face of continuous violations of international law and neocolonial tendencies,” he said, as per news agency Reuters.
Trump-Pope clash
Trump’s remarks came after Pope Leo last week denounced as “truly unacceptable”, Trump’s threat to destroy Iran’s “whole civilisation”.
While the Pope has avoided naming Trump directly, he opposed the war during a prayer vigil at St Peter’s Basilica on April 11. “Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!” the Pope said, as US and Iranian officials held unsuccessful peace talks in Islamabad for 21 hours over the weekend.
In an April 10 social media post, the pontiff 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.”
‘God is good’: Trump
Trump framed the war in religious terms when a reporter asked him if he believed God approved of US actions against Iran.
“I do,” he said, “because God is good and God wants to see people taken care of.”
The self-confessed “a businessman first” politician also criticised the Pope’s stance on other issues, including US attacks in Venezuela and Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump said. The Pope has held no such position.
“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela… 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,” Trump further argued.
Without evidence, he even said Leo owed his position 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,” he claimed.
He then said he was “not a big fan” of the Pope, whom he described as a “very liberal person”.
Pope Leo XIV has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and asked global leaders to pursue peace. “Dear brothers and sisters, there are certainly binding responsibilities that fall to the leaders of nations,” he said in his April 11 homily. “To them we cry out: Stop! It is time for peace!”
The Pope has also criticised the Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies in the past.
