Off The Record
Every Time Pope Leo XIV Criticized Trump — From Immigration To Gun Laws
Although Donald Trump has expressed his support for the next pope, has he noticed that Pope Francis’ successor has once again criticised his own policies?
Yesterday, May 8, it was formally revealed that 69-year-old Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, whose papal name is Pope Leo XIV, would succeed Pope Francis as head of the Catholic Church.
Donald Trump took to Truth Social to express his excitement at the news that the future pope will be the first American to hold the position, even though he had joked about wearing the mitre himself and offending many Catholics with a “blasphemous” AI-generated image.
The question is, has Trump seen and what would he say about the revived posts that appear to indicate the new pope’s opinions towards Trump and his policies?
Who is Pope Leo XIV?
Vatican News reports that the future pope was born in Chicago in September 1955.
After earning a theological diploma from the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago, he entered the Order of Saint Augustine’s novitiate in 1977 and made his solemn vows in 1981.
He received his licentiate in 1984 after being ordained as a priest in Rome in 1982, and Pope Francis made him a cardinal in 2024.
According to the College of Cardinal Report, Pope Leo shares some of his predecessor Pope Francis’ views, and the new pope is a fervent advocate of synodality, which makes the Church more inclusive and active.
He has been vocal about the pressing need to address climate change. But Pope Leo has opposed ‘clericalizing women’ in the context of ordaining female deacons.
Additionally, he has voiced concerns about “sympathy for beliefs and practices that contradict the gospel” in relation to blessing same-sex couples.
Given the several resurfacing tweets that have appeared in recent days, Pope Leo too appears to have concerns about Trump’s policies.
What has Pope Leo said about Trump?
Most recently, Leo reposted a tweet which reads: “As Trump & Bukele use Oval to Feds’ illicit deportation of a US resident, once an undoc-ed Salvadorean himself, now-DC Aux +Evelio asks, ‘Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?'”
The Independent also reported Leo as resharing a tweet which reads: “There is nothing remotely Christian, American, or morally defensible about a policy that takes children away from their parents and warehouses them in cages. This is being carried out in our name and the shame is on us all.”
Trump’s vice president JD Vance has also come under fire from the recently elected pope, who shared an opinion piece from the National Catholic Reporter that read, “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”
The article came after comments Vance made to Fox News in February earlier this year, Vance saying: “There is a Christian concept that you love your family and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then after that, prioritize the rest of the world.”
“A lot of the far left has completely inverted that.”
Furthermore, Leo’s apparent disapproval of Trump’s policies goes back much further—one post was made ten years ago.
An essay written by Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York for The Washington Post was shared on Leo’s account in July 2015.
The headline of the essay is “Why Donald Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric is so problematic.”
Shortly after Trump used Truth Social to respond to the announcement of the new pope, the remarks have reappeared.
What has Trump said about Pope Leo?
In a post to Truth Social, Trump wrote: “Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope.”
“What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country.”
“I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”
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