Outrage and confusion followed President Donald Trump’s Truth Social posts about Pope Leo’s anti-war message April 12.
Trump aimed at the pope’s “weak” stance on crime, calling him “terrible for foreign policy.” The attack comes right after Trump’s Truth Social post of an AI image depicting him as a Jesus-like figure healing a man. Trump said that he thought it was an image of him as a doctor. The post was taken down the morning of April 13.
Pope Leo addressed the citizens of Vatican City April 5 with a message of peace and condemned the actions of the Iran War. CBS’s “60 Minutes” aired a segment April 12 in which three of the highest-ranking American cardinals condemned Trump’s foreign policy actions.
English teacher Kevin Callahan, who refers to himself as a “lapsed Catholic,” said that the problem of the AI image was the glorification of the president. “The main issue would be the, like, idolatry, right? So creating an AI-generated image of oneself as a godlike figure, just points to the insane,” he said. “I think it’s really, really dangerous to just espouse religion without really seeming to know anything about it.”
The expression “lapsed Catholic” describes someone who separates himself from the church, typically in disapproval of some action, but does not abandon Catholic religious beliefs and values.
En route to a 10-day mission to Africa April 13, Pope Leo spoke to journalists. “I have no fear, neither of the Trump administration, nor of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel,” he said. Trump has not apologized for his comments.
Paul Kelly, who teaches history, said that he does not bother with Trump’s comments. “I tend to ignore what he says,” said Kelly, who grew up in a large Catholic family. Instead, he said, he looks to see what, if anything, results from the comments. “I wait to see what policy comes out of it because I think most of what he says is for the Internet world to blow up on,” Kelly said.
Sophomore Benjamin Kerr, who attends the Catholic Church of St. Dominic in Shaker Heights with his family, said that he finds the comments Trump made strange. “It’s just weird. Like, why does he need to say that to the pope? You know, like the pope is not a political figure. So why is [Trump] going after him?” Kerr said.
As the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, the pope is in charge of moral and faith-related decisions, including its influence in political affairs, its diplomatic missions, as well as its voice for peace and security. Pope Leo XIV, who is from Chicago, was elected by a group of cardinals to the papacy in 2025 and has stated goals of making the church more inclusive, modern and faithful.
“I do think that the pope is actually spreading like Jesus’ teachings, which would be his job,” Callahan said.
Vice President J.D. Vance is the highest-ranking Catholic in the federal government. On the Fox News show “Special Report with Bret Baier,” he said that “in some cases it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality.” Vance said the pope should worry more about what’s happening in the Catholic church and to let the president make U.S. policies.
Said Callahan, “J.D. Vance has a hard task of proving his Catholicity and also backing his president. You could not pay me enough to be that guy. Not that I would ever be that guy.”
