A Schism Between Pope and President Helps Neither

The escalating feud between Pope Leo XIV and President Trump pits the leader of the world’s more than one billion Catholics and the leader of the free world. Mr. Trump on Sunday night urged the pope to “stop catering to the Radical Left.” Mr. Trump declared that “Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy” and that “I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo. He’s a very liberal person.” For Mr. Trump, these are restrained tones.The Pope retorted on Monday aboard the papal aircraft, telling reporters that “I have no fear of the Trump administration. The message of the church, my message, the message of the Gospel: Blessed are the Peacemakers. I do not look at my role as being political.” The pontiff has previously called Mr. Trump’s rhetoric in respect of Iran “simply unacceptable” and taught that God does not heed the prayers of warmakers.Our Sharon Khenemui reminds that Leo is hardly the first Bishop of Rome to criticize the launching of a war. Pope John Paul II came out against the campaign in Iraq, and Pope Francis was a harsh critic of Israel’s martial actions. Leo calls himself a “son of St. Augustine,” and that Doctor of the Church taught that “When war is undertaken in obedience to God, who would rebuke, or humble, or crush the pride of man, it must be allowed to be righteous war.”That’s something like the case made by Mr. Trump, who declares “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela. He reckons that “I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do.” Leo could reason that he is doing what he was elected — at a conclave — to do, namely preach against all wars and other violence.Clashes between earthly and religious powers are hardly unknown in the West. It is to Mr. Trump’s credit in this contest that he on Monday removed from social media an image that appeared to show him swapped in for the Christian messiah. Many Catholics, we reckon, both support Mr. Trump and look to Rome for spiritual succor. Among them are Vice President Vance and Secretary Marco Rubio.The Trump administration has been something of a bulwark of religious liberty, an issue that pertains to all faiths but often with special acuity to Catholics. In an editorial last week the Wall Street Journal asked “What is it with Democrats going after Catholic nuns performing works of mercy?” At issue was the coerced use of pronouns at a facility run by the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorn. The Little Sisters of the Poor have had their own travails. When President Kennedy ran for president, some warned that he would take orders from the Vatican. Now, Mr. Trump’s opponents criticize the president for asserting that America’s interests are at variance from the Vatican’s. The left, though, is no stranger from lambasting the Church’s teachings on, say, abortion and sexual ethics. It’s our guess — hope — that as this matter develops the Church and the United States will find themselves on the same side.

A Schism Between Pope and President Helps Neither

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