The conflict between Pope Leo XIV and U.S. President Donald Trump over the war in Iran has intensified. Analysts say the Vatican's moral authority and Washington's political and military power have collided head‑on, producing the sharpest rift between a pope and an American president in decades.
U.S. outlet Axios reported on the 11th (local time) that the rift between Leo XIV and President Trump has moved toward an irreversible point over the Iran war.
Pope Leo XIV sharply condemned President Trump's recent social‑media threat to "wipe out Iranian civilization," calling it utterly unacceptable. He said attacks on civilian infrastructure violate international law, exemplify the hatred and destruction humans are capable of, and urged diplomacy as the path to peace.
As the first American pope, Leo XIII had long been cautious about directly criticizing the Trump administration, but the Iran war has hardened his stance. Some analysts say the conflict — described by critics as a modern‑day crusade — pushed him to a breaking point.
On the 10th, he wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "God blesses no war," adding that if one is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, one does not stand with those who once took up the sword and today drop bombs.
At a special prayer service in St. Peter's Basilica on the evening of the 11th, Leo XIV warned that a delusion of omnipotence is fueling the drive to war. "Enough idolatry of self and money! Enough displays of power! Enough war!" he declared.
Catholic leaders in the United States have rallied behind the pope's position.
Cardinal Blase Cupich of the Archdiocese of Chicago condemned treating a war that brings real death and suffering like a video game as "disgusting." Cardinal Robert McElroy of the Archdiocese of Washington said the conflict fails to meet the Catholic Church's criteria for a just war.
