Originally published at The Crux
Read more...
Pope Leo XIV, a studious and soft-spoken cleric, and Donald Trump, an unapologetically bellicose and pugilistic politician, have long been on a rhetorical collision course. Now their disagreement over the war in Iran has escalated in spectacular fashion, and their comments show how differently each see the conflict and its impact.
On social media, Trump said Leo was “Weak” and captive to the “Radical Left,” even suggesting that Leo somehow owed his position to Trump. The pope has declared Trump’s threats toward Iran “truly unacceptable” and pointed his flock to Biblical text and church doctrine on war and peace, explaining that his purpose is not about Trump at all.
RELATED: A ‘frank discussion’ is changing the dance card for the US and the Vatican
“I’m not afraid of the Trump administration,” Leo said Monday on the way to Africa, “or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, which is what the Church works for.”
It’s an unusual spectacle involving the world’s two biggest megaphones, both held by Americans for the first time. Here is how they got to this point.
Before the papacy, Robert Prevost did not mince words
WHAT HE SAID: When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the future
