VATICAN CITY, April 2 (Reuters) – Last May, Pope Leo 14 became the first North American leader of the global Catholic Church, but during the first 10 months of his term, he avoided comments about his home country and never publicly mentioned United States President Donald Trump.
That era has come to an end.
In recent weeks, the pope has emerged as an outspoken critic of the Iran war. He mentioned Trump for the first time publicly on Tuesday in a direct appeal, calling on the president to end the expanding conflict.
It’s a significant shift in tone and approach that experts say indicates the pope wants to serve as a counterweight on the world stage to Trump and his foreign policy goals.
“I don’t think he wants the Vatican to be accused of being soft on Trumpism because he’s American,” said Massimo Faggioli, an Italian academic who follows the Vatican closely.
Leo 14, known for choosing his words carefully, urged Trump to find a ‘way out’ to end the war, using an American colloquialism that the president and government officials would understand.
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‘When (Leo 14) speaks, he is always careful,’ said Faggioli, a professor at Trinity College Dublin. ‘I don’t think this was an accident.’
Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, a close ally of Leo 14, told Reuters the pope is taking up the mantle of a long line of pontiffs who have called on world leaders to turn away from war.
“What is different… is the voice of the messenger, for now North Americans and the entire English-speaking world are hearing the message in a language familiar to them,” the cardinal said.
GOD REJECTS PRAYERS FROM WAR LEADERS
Two days before making a direct appeal to Trump, Leo 14 said that God rejected the prayers of leaders who start wars and have ‘hands full of blood,’ in unusually forceful comments for a Catholic pontiff.
These comments were interpreted by conservative Catholic commentators as being directed at US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who invoked Christian language to justify the joint US and Israeli attacks on Iran that started the war.
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They also led to one of the Trump administration’s first direct responses to a Leo 14 comment.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with our military leaders or the president calling on the American people to pray for our serving troops,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said when asked about the pope’s comments.
Marie Dennis, former leader of the international Catholic peace movement Pax Christi, said Leo 14’s latest comments and his direct appeal to Trump ‘reflect a heart broken by relentless violence’.
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“He is speaking to all who are exhausted by this relentless violence and are hungry for courageous leadership,” she said.
