Trump, Jesus & War

Over the past few weeks, Pope Leo XIV has countered the rhetoric of Pete Hegseth and J.D. Vance who used Christian nationalist rhetoric to try to justify an unnecessary war.

During Palm Sunday, Pope Leo XIV's said in his homily (https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/homilies/2026/documents/20260…):

"We turn our gaze to Jesus, who reveals himself as King of Peace, even as war looms around him. He remains steadfast in meekness, while others are stirring up violence. He offers himself to embrace humanity, even as others raise swords and clubs...

...Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: 'Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood' (Is 1:15)."

A few days later, Pope Leo XIV condemned Donald Trump's threat to obliterate Iranian civilization. Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling for The New Republic quoted Pope Leo as saying (https://newrepublic.com/post/208755/pope-leo-donald-trump-threat-destro…):

"Today as we all know there was this threat against all the people of Iran. This is truly unacceptable... Here there are certainly questions of international law, but even more than this a question of morality for the good of people."

Personally, I think that a clash between the Roman Catholic Church and Trump is inevitable.

Unlike many of Trump's white Evangelical supporters who are more uniformly conservative, Catholic Social Thinking is conservative on some issues and progressive on other issues. The Catholic Church's progressive take on issues like immigration, the environment, helping the poor and critiquing capitalism puts it at odds with Trump's policies and MAGA ideology.

During the 19th century, the Roman Catholic Church was a very reactionary institution that supported autocratic monarchies, was deeply suspicious of democracies and was guilty of antisemitism, religious intolerance and violations against indigenous rights.

Starting with Pope Leo XIII'x encyclical Rerum Novarum in 1891, the Catholic Church slowly evolved during the 20th century through a series of reforms. By the end of the 20th century, the Catholic Church became a strong supporter of democracy, ecumenical outreach to different religions, and a strong defender of indigenous rights.

The Catholic Church is not perfect in its record on human rights. The Catholic Church has been terrible in terms of LGBTQIA+ rights for instance. And it has covered up for decades a priest pedophilia scandal that destroyed the lives of countless children. The Catholic Church still needs reforms.

In spite of its flaws, the Catholic Church is in many countries the only institution with the clout to stand up to authoritarian governments and speak out on human rights abuses.

REFERENCES
The Palm Sunday Homily of Pope Leo XIV for March 29, 2026
https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/homilies/2026/documents/20260…

"Pope Leo Condemns Trump's 'Unacceptable' Threat to Destroy Iran" by Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling for The New Republic
https://newrepublic.com/post/208755/pope-leo-donald-trump-threat-destro…

"Pope Leo Is Speaking Truth to Donald Trump’s Power. The pontiff’s Easter address, like so many of his recent statements, countered Trump’s Iran bombast with a cry for peace—and sanity." by John Nichols for The Nation
https://www.thenation.com/.../pope-leo-donald-trump-iran/

"St. Augustine is key to the difference between Pete Hegseth and Pope Leo" by Karen Park for The National Catholic Reporter
https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/st-augustine-key-difference-between-p…

A PBS NewsHour Compass Points video exploring Pope Leo XIV's response to Donald Trump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OILUelrLkU