President Donald Trump's recent comments about Pope Leo XIV have reignited tensions between the two leaders, just days before Secretary of State Marco Rubio is slated for a high-stakes visit to the Vatican.
The president once again hammered the Chicago-born pope for his outspoken condemnation of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, appearing on a conservative podcast, "The Hugh Hewitt Show," on Monday, May 4.
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"The Pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, and I don’t think that’s very good," Trump said, after the host suggested the pontiff should talk about a pro-democracy activist and media mogul jailed by China.
"I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people," Trump continued. "But I guess if it’s up to the Pope, he thinks it’s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon."
The war started on Feb. 28 with joint strikes that killed the Middle Eastern nation's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It is increasingly unpopular among Americans and has led to significant rifts between the United States and several of its European allies. Trump and his administration have provided differing rationales for the war, including the need to eliminate "imminent threats" from Iran and prevent the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Other aims the administration has stated include destroying Iran's ballistic missile capabilities, decimating its navy and stopping its support for regional militant groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
The pope, who has consistently raised objections to the war and called for immediate peace, responded directly to the president's podcast comments, speaking to reporters outside his residence in Castel Gandolfo on May 5.
"For years, the Church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt on that point,” the pontiff said, referencing Trump's allegation that the pontiff supported Iran obtaining the weapons.
“The mission of the Church is to proclaim the Gospel, to preach peace,” the pope said. “If someone wants to criticize me for proclaiming the Gospel, let him do so truthfully.”
The renewed tensions come ahead of Rubio's planned visit to the Vatican on May 7. It will be the first meeting between the Chicago-born pontiff and a senior member of the administration since the tiff between the president and pope began more than a month ago.
In his comments to reporters on May 5, the pope said he hoped the meeting with Rubio would be “a good dialogue,” approached “with trust and openness,” so as “to understand one another well.”
The back-and-forth between Trump and the pontiff turned pointed on April 7, after Trump’s expletive-laden Easter Sunday posts threatening to annihilate Iranian infrastructure. Pope Leo called such rhetoric “truly unacceptable.” A few days later, Leo posted on social media that disciples of Christ are “never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs," prompting the president to call the pontiff "weak" on crime and nuclear weapons.
"I have no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do," Pope Leo said on April 12.
Catholic bishops in the United States have rallied behind Leo's opposition to the Iran war, even as Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, questioned the pontiff's remarks.
While the United States and Iran are engaged in a fragile ceasefire, peace talks between United States and Iranian leaders have so far failed to come to a resolution. The war, now in its tenth week, has thrown the Persian Gulf and swaths of the Middle East into turmoil and begun a bitter ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran's closure of the Gulf's vital maritime shipping route, the Strait of Hormuz, rocked global energy markets, sending fuel prices skyrocketing in the United States and around many parts of the world.
Kathryn Palmer is a politics reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @KathrynPlmr. Sign up for her daily politics newsletter here.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump reignites feud with Pope ahead of Rubio's Vatican visit
