Geline Salac

Trump's attacks on Pope 'unprecedented': Vatican expert

Article (news)

Reuters Wires

<p>A Vatican expert said Donald Trump and Pope Leo are like &quot;oil and water&quot; amid their feud, following the president’s attack on the Catholic leader on Sunday (April 12).</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GpLfu0z3oCM?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure on Sunday, drawing widespread criticism even from some religious conservatives who typically support him, before deleting the post on Monday (April 13).</p><p>The post on Trump’s Truth Social platform, which Trump later said was meant to portray him as a doctor, came amid his escalating feud with Pope Leo, who has criticized the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran as inhumane. </p><p>Shortly before publishing the image, the president posted a lengthy screed against Pope Leo, calling him “WEAK on crime and terrible for Foreign Policy.”</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2026/4/13/trump-says-not-a-big-fan-of-pope-leo-after-his-anti-war-message-1005">Trump says &#x27;not a big fan&#x27; of Pope Leo after his anti-war message</a></div><p>Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, said in response to Trump’s attacks that he had “no fear” of the Trump administration and would continue to speak out.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RePMg8t1mvY?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>&quot;Certainly, the Vatican is a complicated institution. It&#x27;s the oldest diplomatic corps in the world, and it works discreetly and behind the scenes. And that&#x27;s just a complete opposite to President Trump&#x27;s style, which is sort of in-your-face style diplomacy. And so in that sense, they&#x27;re oil and water,&quot; Christopher White, a Vatican journalist and author of the 2025 book &#x27;Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy&#x27;, told Reuters on Monday.</p><p>White called Trump&#x27;s attack on the pope &quot;unprecedented&quot;, adding that it was &quot;rather shocking&quot; for Catholics around the world. </p><p>&quot;Typically, presidents try to seek amicable relationships with the pope. They want to see where there are areas of of common good that they can pursue together,&quot; White said. </p><p>Sunday’s post, depicting Trump in a white robe with an apparently healing hand on a prone man&#x27;s head, could create a rift between Trump and the religious right, whose support was critical to his victory in the 2024 election.</p><p>In the painting-like image, Trump holds a glowing orb in one hand and uses his other hand to touch a seemingly sick man on the forehead. The Statue of Liberty, fireworks, a fighter jet and eagles could be seen in the background.</p><p>&quot;You don&#x27;t have to be a person of faith or an art scholar to know that exactly what that image represented,&quot; White said. </p><p>Trump denied on Monday that the image was intended to show him as a Jesus-like figure, calling that &quot;fake news.&quot;</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better, and I do make people better,&quot; he told reporters at the White House, soon after the post was deleted.</p><p>Christian voters, including Catholics, have formed a critical part of Trump&#x27;s political base. Trump, who does not attend church regularly, won large majorities of Christian voters in the 2024 election, including Catholics, who had previously been closer to a split.</p><p>After Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt in July 2024, some evangelical supporters said it was evidence he had been blessed by God.</p><p>(Production: Soren Larson, Eva Weininger)</p>

<p>A Vatican expert said Donald Trump and Pope Leo are like "oil and water" amid their feud, following the president’s attack on the Catholic leader on Sunday (April 12).</p>

A Vatican expert said Donald Trump and Pope Leo are like "oil and water" amid their feud, following the president’s attack on the Catholic leader on Sunday (April 12).

Trump's attacks on Pope 'unprecedented': Vatican expert

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Trump's attacks on Pope 'unprecedented': Vatican expert

Reuters

Published April 14, 2026 08:03 AM PHT

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