Pope Leo says President Trump’s threats against Iran are ‘unacceptable’
Pope Leo appealed for peace after President Donald Trump warned that the United States could attack Iran’s critical infrastructure.
- Rumors of threats against the pope surfaced after reports said the Pentagon had warned Vatican diplomats to support the United States.
- A Pentagon spokesperson called the report “exaggerated and distorted.”
- Pope Leo XIV criticized the Trump administration’s policies, saying the threat to Iranian civilization was “truly unacceptable.”
Pope Leo XIV has criticized the Trump administration, but did President Donald Trump threaten the Pope?
Not directly. Rumors and questions surfaced online after the Free Press reported on April 6 that Cardinal Christophe Pierre, who served as Holy See’s ambassador to the United States until March, met with Pentagon officials in January. The Free Press, citing an unnamed Vatican official, reported that the meeting was “a hard-hitting lecture warning that the United States has the military power to do whatever it wants and that the Church would be better off on its side.”
Although USA TODAY has confirmed that the meeting took place, neither the Pentagon nor Pierre’s former office, the Episcopal Church of the Apostles, have publicly acknowledged the events reported by the Free Press.
Here’s what we know:
Did Trump threaten Pope Leo?
USA TODAY could not immediately confirm a Free Press report that said the Pentagon had threatened the Vatican through diplomats, but not directly.
The Pentagon and the Apostolic Legation, also known as the Vatican Embassy, confirmed to USA TODAY that a meeting between Pierre and Pentagon officials took place in January.
A Pentagon spokesperson said the news reports were “exaggerated and distorted.” The Apostolic Episcopal Secretariat said meetings with government officials are standard and the Secretariat appreciates discussing common issues.
Vice President J.D. Vance, a converted Catholic, was asked about the free press at a rally in Budapest on April 8.
“I would actually like to talk to Cardinal Christophe Pierre and, frankly, to the public, to find out what actually happened,” Vance said, according to a recording of the pool report. “I think it’s always a bad idea to form an opinion on unverified and unsubstantiated stories.”
Is the Pope anti-Trump?
Pope Leo, America’s first pope, has been outspoken about some of the Trump administration’s policies.
On April 7, outside his official residence in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Pope Leo told journalists: “As you all know, today there was such a threat against the entire Iranian people. This is truly unacceptable.” “There is certainly an issue of international law here, but more than that, it is a moral issue for the benefit of[the world’s]peoples.”
According to Reuters, Pope Leo also called on President Trump to end the war.
According to Reuters, Leo has previously questioned whether President Trump’s immigration policies are consistent with the church’s pro-life teachings.
Trump once described himself as a Presbyterian, but in 2020 he told Religion News Service that he had come to consider himself a nondenominational Christian.
However, first lady Melania Trump made headlines in 2017 when she met with the late Pope Francis and revealed that she was Catholic when she asked him to bless her rosary beads.
Contributors: Marc Ramirez, Antonio Fins, USA TODAY Network. Reuters
Kinsey Crowley is a Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Please contact KCrowley@usatodayco.com. follow her X (Twitter), thread, blue sky and TikTok.
