Pope Leo XIV told reporters on Tuesday that the Catholic Church has spoken out against nuclear weapons for years, one day after President Donald Trump renewed claims that the pope thinks it is “OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
Why It Matters
A sitting president of the United States had never previously engaged in a public disagreement with the pope. At the center of the conflict between two of the world’s most prominent figures is debate over the Iran war. As crucial midterm elections approach across the U.S., there is some concern among Republican strategists that the president’s sparring with the pope could hurt Trump-aligned candidates—pushing some Catholic supporters to choose between their religious beliefs and political alliance. Democratic hopefuls in the House and Senate races plan to focus on reaching out to moderate and undecided Catholics in tight districts.
What to Know
Leo has criticized the war, saying that “God does not bless any conflict,” at a gathering of top bishops last month. Trump said on social media last month that Leo is “WEAK on crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy,” adding, “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”
Leo said on Tuesday that the Catholic Church “for years has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt there.
“The mission of the church is to preach the Gospel, to preach peace. If someone wants to criticize me for announcing the Gospel, let him do it with the truth.”
The comments came after Trump told conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt on Monday, “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.”
When Will Secretary of State Marco Rubio Visit the Vatican?
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to travel to Rome and Vatican City on Thursday and Friday. Rubio, a practicing Catholic, will have visited Italy or the Vatican at least three times in the past year after this trip.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, the secretary of state said Trump’s criticism of the first American pontiff stemmed from concerns about Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, which he said could threaten millions of Catholics and other Christians worldwide.
Trump “doesn’t understand why anybody, leave aside the Pope, the president and I, for that matter, think most people cannot understand why anyone would think that it’s a good idea for Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon,” Rubio said.
The Vatican announced that Rubio would meet with Leo on Thursday.
“Secretary Rubio will meet with Holy See leadership to discuss the situation in the Middle East and mutual interests in the Western Hemisphere,” the State Department also said. “Meetings with Italian counterparts will be focused on shared security interests and strategic alignment.”
What Has Polling Said About the Dispute Between President Trump and Pope Leo?
A YouGov poll, which surveyed 1,707 adults from April 17-20, asked respondents, “President Trump and Vice-President Vance have criticized Pope Leo for comments he has made about the war in Iran. Who do you agree with more about the war in Iran?”
Forty-eight percent of poll respondents said they agree more with Leo, while 28 percent said they agree with Trump and JD Vance. An additional 24 percent said they were not sure. The margin of error for the overall sample was around 3.5 percent.
Polling by Verasight shared exclusively with Newsweek found that 48 percent of Catholics believed it was appropriate for the pope to criticize the president’s policies, while 21 percent said it was appropriate for Trump to criticize Leo. The poll surveyed 2,000 U.S. adults from April 21-23 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points.
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.
Do you have a story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com.
Related Articles
