Religion is not a political tool

President Trump posted a Truth Social post last Sunday where he lashed out at the first American Pope, Leo XIV, for criticizing the Trump Administration’s foreign policy and recent actions in Iran. 

In his Truth Social post, Trump stated the pope should not criticize war, but that instead, “Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church!” 

While Trump seemingly thinks the Pope should stay out of politics, he also, in the same post, indicates that the Pope should be “tough on crime” in America, stating “Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” 

He even goes on to say, “I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn’t! I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.” 

It is incredibly hypocritical for Trump to simultaneously hold these two positions. How can he expect the Pope to be tough on crime, but also focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician? How could the Pope even be tough on crime? He has no bearing on American law, nor on the justice system of the United States. 

Trump, who is notably not Catholic, does not want Leo to focus on politics, nor does he want him to focus on his flock. Rather, he expects the leader of the largest Christian denomination in the world to be a sycophant, agreeing with everything the Trump administration does and twisting religion to garner more support for Trump from American Catholics.  

If Pope Leo should stay out of politics, then Trump should not try to use religion as a political tool. While I personally take umbrage with many of the moral stances of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo does not deserve such vitriolic ridicule from the President of the United States. 

Pope Leo should not be expected to abandon the Catholic Church’s long-standing stance of Just War Theory, which was first advocated for by Saint Augustine, to please Trump through unquestioning support.