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Popes have spoken out on politics before. But with Trump and Pope Leo it’s different

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Popes have spoken out on politics before. But with Trump and Pope Leo it’s different

Pope Leo XIV addresses the Algerian community in the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa, in Algiers on Monday. Religious experts say President Trump’s attacks on the pope are a break from how previous popes interacted with American presidents.

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The ongoing war of words between President Trump and Pope Leo XIV is unparalleled in modern history. It’s not new for popes to speak out on political issues, historians of religion say, but Trump’s insults toward the pope are without precedent.

The direct nature of Pope Leo’s responses as well as him being the first American pope are also playing a role in how the exchange is being interpreted by the public.

The recent back and forth started with Leo’s calling for peace in response to the war in Iran, and continued with him warning of the “delusion of omnipotence” and writing that “God does not bless any conflict.”

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It escalated this past weekend when Trump accused Leo of being “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” a potential response to Catholic leaders’ calling for more humanity in the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Trump also claimed Leo was in favor of Iran having nuclear weapons. Trump continued his attacks Tuesday night with another social media post, saying, “Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed, protesters in the last two months.”

“I have no fear of neither the Trump administration nor of speaking out loudly about the message in the Gospel,” Leo told reporters on Monday at the start of an 11-day Africa tour.

Vice President Vance, who is Catholic, also weighed in on the controversy on Tuesday night, saying the pope should “be careful when he talks about matters of theology.”

“What we saw … is an unprecedented, unhinged attack by the president of the United States on the pope,” said Christopher White, associate director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University. “It was clearly meant to intimidate the pope,” but, he added, “the pope’s response shows he is undeterred by the president’s broadside and won’t be distracted from his efforts to push for peace.”

The charged nature of the exchange is new, but many popes have been known for their political critiques. Here’s a brief overview of times when modern popes spoke out on politics, and how Pope Leo is different.

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Popes have had political opinions before, but the response was diplomatic

Pope Paul VI (left) talking to US President Lyndon B Johnson during a special audience at the Vatican City, Rome, December 23rd 1967.

Pope Paul VI talking to President Lyndon Johnson during a special audience at the Vatican City, Rome, on Dec. 23, 1967. Pope Paul famously said: “No more war, war never again.”

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Modern popes have never shied away from voicing political opinions, sometimes running contrary to world leaders.

“When the pope speaks, it’s not that he’s taking sides. He’s really pointing out the objective moral law,” said Michele Dillon, a professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire whose research focuses on the Catholic Church.

But prior interactions were much more diplomatic.

In 1965, Pope Paul VI was the first pope to speak before the United Nations, urging an end to the Vietnam War and famously saying, “No more war, war never again.” Paul VI pushed President Lyndon Johnson to “increase even more your noble effort” to negotiate for peace in Vietnam in 1967. Later that year, Johnson released a cordial statement after meeting the pope, saying “I deeply appreciate the full and free manner” of the pope’s opinions.

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In 1979, Pope John Paul II spoke before the United Nations, focusing on human rights and peace. He advocated an end to conflicts in the Middle East, with a “just settlement of the Palestinian question” and the “territorial integrity of Lebanon.” John Paul II visited President Jimmy Carter in the White House, where they talked about the Philippines, China, Europe, South Korea, and the Middle East, according to Carter’s notes.

John Paul II, a Polish pope, was also involved in less-public political influence. He supported Polish opposition to the Soviet Union and has been credited with helping to bring down the Berlin Wall in 1989. Later, in 2003, he spoke against the U.S. invasion of Iraq and also sent representatives to Washington and Baghdad to make appeals to avoid the war. Those appeals were ignored, but he correctly predicted decades of unrest in the Middle East, according to White.

Pope John Paul II and President Jimmy Carter in October 1979.

Pope John Paul II and President Jimmy Carter in October 1979.

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John Paul II also voiced opinions on social issues with presidents — disagreeing with Bill Clinton on abortion and pushing George W. Bush to reject stem cell research — but neither president escalated the situation and both remained respectful.

More recently, in 2013, Pope Francis called an impromptu vigil to plead for peace in the civil war in Syria and wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin to oppose military intervention there. Francis responded to a chemical attack that left some 70 people dead in Syria in 2017, saying he was “horrified,” and he appealed “to the conscience of those who have political responsibility” to end the violence.

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In 2015, Francis released a document saying the church accepted the scientific consensus on climate change and urged world leaders to act.

“Many of the world’s leading climate activists have said that no one has done more to shape public opinion on [climate change] than Pope Francis,” White said.

Francis was also a tireless advocate for peace in Gaza, and would call Gaza’s Church of the Holy Family nightly during the war between Hamas and Israel.

Francis also went head to head with Trump in 2016 before Trump’s first election. When Francis visited the U.S.-Mexico border, he said a person “who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.” Trump called the pope’s comments “disgraceful,” but he quickly smoothed over the situation and called Francis a “wonderful guy.”

Popes have been reluctant to name names before now

Popes have historically been hesitant to name the person their criticism is directed at outright. A hotly contested example is Pope Pius XII’s decision to not directly name and denounce Adolf Hitler during World War II.

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Pope Francis also faced criticism for his ambiguous references to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

This makes Leo’s directness all the more relevant, according to White, who is also the author of Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy. Leo referring to Trump by name, though still a rare occurrence, was a “new tact” for the papacy, he said.

“There’s just kind of a reflex on the Vatican’s behalf to want to be perceived as neutral as possible in a conflict,” he said. Leo, however, “appealed to [Trump] directly and in a sense, pointed the finger to say: ‘You started this war, you have the power to end this war.’”

The pope does not want to get involved in a political back and forth, said Dillon, the UNH professor, but his job is to preach the Catholic teachings.

“That’s the last thing any pope wants to do, because they do want to be a pope for the universal church and for all people,” Dillon said. “A pope of peace.”

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The Trump administration is frequently invoking religion 

Another reason for Leo’s outspokenness may be the Trump administration’s continued religious rhetoric and imagery, experts said.

On Sunday, Trump shared an AI-generated image that depicts him as a Jesus-like figure, wearing a white robe and red sash and laying his hands on a sick, bedridden man as light appeared to radiate from his hands. The post was later deleted and Trump claimed the image was of him as a doctor.

Robert Orsi, a professor of religious studies and history at Northwestern University, said he was alarmed by the post’s connotations. He called the whole exchange with Leo “unprecedented,” and “never in U.S. history has this happened.”

On Wednesday, Trump shared a post on social media with an image of him being embraced by Jesus. Trump told reporters last week that he believes God supports the U.S. military action in Iran because “God is good and God wants to see people taken care of.” Last year, the White House posted an image of Trump as the pope.

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“We have an administration, not just a president, but an administration that is speaking out in more overtly religious terms than even somebody like Jimmy Carter,” said Margaret Thompson, a professor of history and political science at Syracuse University. Carter was an evangelical Christian.

Dillon, the UNH professor, said that because of this, Leo may have felt a duty to personally reference and respond to Trump’s attacks, because he recognizes that “appeasement has a moral price.”

Jesuit priest and author James Martin told Morning Edition that “pretty much every Catholic I spoke to, from progressive Catholics to traditional Catholics, were appalled,” at Trump’s words toward the pope. “The pope is, you know, the representative of the whole church. So it’s an attack on the church.”

How Pope Leo is viewed, being an American pope

Pope Leo XIV leads a mass at the basilica of St. Augustine in Annaba on the second day of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa, on April 14, 2026.

Pope Leo XIV leads a mass at the basilica of St. Augustine in Annaba on the second day of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa, on Tuesday.

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Pope Leo is the first American pope, but he does not think of himself as just an American. “He’s the Holy Father for everyone,” said Peter Martin, a former U.S. diplomat accredited to the Holy See.

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Still, that doesn’t stop people from looking at the saga from an American angle.

Dillon said the fact that the pope is American could allow him to have greater influence. Americans may have seen popes such as Francis, who were “pointed in their criticism of a great power like America,” as just “anti-America,” she said.

“But if you have a pope who was born and raised in Chicago and really a true out-and-out American criticizing in pointed terms, I actually think that carries more weight,” Dillon said.

In early April, Leo appealed to the American people “to seek ways to communicate. Perhaps with congressmen, with authorities, saying that we don’t want war, we want peace.”

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“It doesn’t get more American than that,” White said. “I mean, I don’t think there’s any precedent for a pope saying, ‘call your congressman.’”

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Read the Indictment Against Raúl Castro

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Read the Indictment Against Raúl Castro

Case 1:03-cr-20685-DPG Document 8 Entered on FLSD Docket 04/29/2026 Page 18 of 26

did willfully and unlawfully, with malice aforethought, kill P.M., a human being, with premeditation and during the perpetration of, and attempt to perpetrate, sabotage, that is, the destruction of an aircraft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 32(a).
In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1111(a), 3238 and 2.

1.

COUNT 6 Murder

18 U.S.C. §§ 1111(a), 3238 and 2

Paragraphs 1 through 34 of the General Allegations section and paragraphs 4

through 31 of the Overt Acts section of Count 1 are incorporated herein by reference.

2.

On or about February 24, 1996, in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction

of the United States, the defendants,

RAUL MODESTO CASTRO RUZ

and

LORENZO ALBERTO PEREZ-PEREZ,

did willfully and unlawfully, with malice aforethought, kill Md.1.P, a human being, with premeditation and during the perpetration of, and attempt to perpetrate, sabotage, that is, the destruction of an aircraft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 32(a).
In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1111(a), 3238 and 2.

1.

COUNT 7 Murder

18 U.S.C. §§ 1111(a), 3238 and 2

Paragraphs 1 through 34 of the General Allegations section and paragraphs 4 through 31 of the Overt Acts section of Count 1 are incorporated herein by reference.

2.

On or about February 24, 1996, in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction

of the United States, the defendants,

18

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The San Diego mosque shooting victims remembered as ‘heroes’ for protecting children

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The San Diego mosque shooting victims remembered as ‘heroes’ for protecting children

From left to right, Mansour Kaziha, Amin Abdullah and Nadir Awad.

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The Islamic Center of San Diego

Mansour Kaziha was the mosque’s shopkeeper known for letting children take candy for free. Nadir Awad was funny, cheerful and regularly went to the mosque to pray. And Amin Abdullah was a dedicated security guard who greeted people with a bright smile and the occasional sage life advice.

Until recently, all three men were best known for small, everyday interactions at the Islamic Center of San Diego.

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But after the harrowing attack on Monday, they are now remembered for their larger-than-life acts of courage, which cost them their lives but prevented two gunmen from coming into contact with the some hundred children and staff who were inside the mosque.

“At no point [were they] hiding or running away from what’s happening,” Ghouse Mohammed, the center’s head of security, told NPR. “All three of them were heroes.”

In the aftermath, community members have united in grief and gratitude for Abdullah, Kaziha and Awad — as well as brewing frustration over how factors like anti-Muslim rhetoric both online and among elected officials led to Monday’s act of violence.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Mark Remily, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Diego field office, described the two shooting suspects as teenagers who shared a “broad hatred” toward different races and religious groups.

“We are thoroughly investigating this case to learn everything we can and will not stop until we get to the bottom of what happened and why,” Remily said. “But we also want to learn how this happened and what we can do to stop future acts of violence.”

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What we know about the victims 

Last week, when Amin Abdullah’s daughter Hawaa earned her teaching credential, she said her father couldn’t make it because he was at work.

Hawaa didn’t hold it against the father of eight. Instead, she shared this anecdote at a news press conference on Tuesday as one example of how seriously her father took his job as a security guard. Other times, she said Abdullah would forego meals in order to stay at his post.

“ He wanted to save his food till after he left the job because he was afraid that if he went on his break, something bad would happen,” she said. “ He would be so vigilant in protecting the masjid, protecting the children.”

In part, Abdullah, 51, was protective by nature. But he was also shaken by the mass shooting at a New Zealand mosque in 2019, which killed 51 people, according to Ismahan Abdullahi, who grew up attending the San Diego mosque.

“ The fact that so many lives were saved because of him is not a surprise to us because that’s who he was,” she told NPR. “ He was courageous, he was sincere, he was loving, and he always put other people first, and it cost him his life.”

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Mansour Kaziha had been a fixture at the Islamic Center of San Diego since the 1980s, according to Mohammed, the head of the mosque’s security. From then on, Kaziha continued to be the mosque’s handyman. The 78-year-old also managed the center’s store, often striking up conversations with customers.

“ Every child who grew in the San Diego community since the ’80s know him as uncle,” Mohammed said.

Kaziha was also known for feeding hundreds during iftar when worshippers would break their first fast during Ramadan. His lentil soup was a crowd favorite, according to Noor Abdi, a youth leader at Huda Community Center in San Diego, who grew up eating Kaziha’s cooking during Ramadan.

“ He has done so much. I can’t name the amount of things that he has his fingerprints on, and we have lost a pillar of this center,” Abdi said.

Nadir Awad, 57, lived across the street and his wife is a teacher at the school inside the center. Mohammed described him as having a “very charming personality, always smiling, always laughing.”

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Although Awad didn’t have an official role at the mosque, he responded without hesitation on Monday, Mohammed said.

“ When he heard the first rounds, he just ran towards the Islamic Center to check on what’s going on and how he’s able to help,” the security chief said.

Mosque saw growing number of threats

According to Mohammed — who has overseen security at the mosque for 13 years — threats toward the mosque have increased since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and Israel’s war in Gaza. In response to Monday’s shooting, Mohammed said he hopes to see increased patrols and greater police presence at all houses of worship.

“Because we all are vulnerable,” he said. “ And we don’t want … this to happen anywhere, to any community, any faith-based organizations.”

Mohammed said the Islamic Center increased its security and began arming its officers after the 2019 attack in New Zealand. Abdullah was among the new guards who joined afterwards.

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Mohammed added that the mosque has practiced active shooter drills before, but mainly in the case of a single gunman, not two.

As he grieves losing Abdullah, who he described as a close friend and colleague, Mohammed said he reviewed the surveillance footage from the shooting and that Abdullah responded exactly how he was trained.

“We did our best with protecting this place,” he said.

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School board member who hugged teen and called her ‘hot’ is charged with assault

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School board member who hugged teen and called her ‘hot’ is charged with assault

A Tennessee school board member who hugged a teenage girl and called her “hot” at a public meeting last month has been charged with assault, court records show.

The charge of assault — physical contact stems from an incident on April 2, when Keith Ervin put his arm around the girl, a student member of the board, hugged her from the side and told her, “God, you’re hot,” after she had just wrapped up asking questions about career and technical education.

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A lawyer who could speak on Ervin’s behalf was not listed in Washington County court records, and Ervin did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday night.

During the public comment part of a May 7 meeting, the student called the adult members of the school board “cowards” for what she characterized as their “failure to act.”

“To begin, I want to address Ervin’s actions, which were not only unwelcome, but sexist and derogatory,” she said, standing at a podium in front of the members, including Ervin, who sat with his arms crossed as she spoke. “I know this because he has not behaved this way with any of our male members, nor do I believe that he ever would.”

Following public outcry, Ervin apologized for his actions. At an April 8 meeting, he said his calling the girl “hot” was intended to mean “she was on a roll” and had nothing to do with her appearance.

The board censured Ervin, a member since 2006, at that meeting. In a statement Tuesday to NBC affiliate WCYB of Bristol, it said that because Tennessee law dictates school board members are independently elected officials, it does not have the authority to remove them, including Ervin.

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“The Board reiterates that Mr. Ervin’s actions do not reflect the standards, policies, or values of the school district,” the statement said. “The Board will defer to law enforcement and the judicial system for the resolution of these charges.”

In her public comments, the teen told the board members that she does not accept “your fake apologies used to protect yourselves. I do not believe that you deserve that peace of mind.”

The members did not respond to her and moved on to other meeting agenda items.

Ervin’s first court appearance is scheduled for August.

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