Rain lashed against the windows on a bleak Monday, and yet, I found myself contemplating an unexpected sentiment: praise for the Pope. It’s a strange admission, especially coming from someone like me, who has never felt a pull towards religion. This realization struck me particularly sharply while writing from Belfast, a city still visibly fractured by the deep wounds of religious division.
Here, peace walls loom larger than any that once divided Berlin, their gates still closing with the setting sun. Even the kerbstones bear the painted marks of sectarian allegiance. The history of religion is, undeniably, stained with conflict – wars ignited, innocent people condemned, and abuse shielded under the guise of faith. I’ve always found the rituals perplexing, the hierarchies unsettling, and the notion of direct divine communication… improbable, at best.
And yet, despite all this, the current climate has shifted my perspective. It’s a testament to the peculiar power of Donald Trump, a man capable of achieving the seemingly impossible. He transforms staunch opponents into fervent supporters, skeptics into defenders, and even atheists into reluctant allies, simply by making them the target of his ire.
This weekend, that focus landed squarely on Pope Leo XIV, sparking a furious 334-word outburst on Truth Social. Trump labeled the Pope “WEAK on Crime” and a failure in “Foreign Policy,” claiming Leo “talks about fear of the Trump Administration.” He even bafflingly expressed a preference for the Pope’s brother, Louis, declaring him “all MAGA.” The tirade culminated in an AI-generated image portraying Trump as a Christ-like figure, a bizarre spectacle of self-aggrandizement.
The catalyst for this attack? The Pope’s courageous denunciation of wars fueled by a “delusion of omnipotence.” He didn’t need to explicitly mention Trump’s threats, but the implication was clear. Leo condemned the idea of destroying “an entire civilization” – echoing Trump’s own chilling words regarding a nation of 93 million people – as “truly unacceptable.” He asserted that Jesus “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”
This bold statement, apparently, was enough to earn the Pope a “traitor” label and unleash a barrage of attacks from Trump’s loyalists. Fox News host Sean Hannity even questioned whether the Pope had “even read the Bible,” a stunning display of arrogance directed at the leader of 1.4 billion Catholics. Leo, in that moment, transcended his religious role, becoming the last voice of reason in a chaotic landscape.
The Pope possesses a freedom politicians often lack. He can challenge the most powerful person on Earth without fearing repercussions for “losing a phone call.” Many, particularly in places like the UK, may not fully grasp the theological nuances, but they instinctively understand this is not a religious debate. It’s a fundamental question of decency, and the mantle of reason has fallen to a man who travels in a Mercedes G wagon.
And so, unexpectedly, I find myself aligned with the Pope, a sentiment echoed in recent polling data. An NBC News poll revealed Leo with a +34 net favorability rating among American voters, surpassing Trump, JD Vance, and Marco Rubio. Even among American Catholics – 55% of whom supported Trump in 2024 – a shift is underway, with Trump’s approval now underwater according to Fox News polling.
Even the president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops publicly expressed “disheartened” feelings regarding Trump’s attack, reminding everyone that “the Pope is not his rival.” A concept, it seems, lost on Trump, a master of manufactured conflict. This is, at its core, a demand for a choice: Christ or Trump, the white robes or the red hat.
What’s darkly amusing is the reported assumption that an American Pope would automatically be a staunch ally. Trump seemingly believed a fellow countryman would fall into line. Instead, Leo has delivered the one thing Trump cannot tolerate: a refusal to be impressed. This isn’t merely another fleeting skirmish; it’s a potential showdown for the ages.
It’s easy to dismiss this as another absurd episode in our current reality, something to grimace at and then file away. But it’s also a powerful demonstration that the fragile social contract against threatening entire populations is being upheld by a small number of individuals willing to speak truth to power. And right now, that voice belongs to the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church.
I still don’t subscribe to the Pope as a divinely appointed authority. But as an adversary to Trump’s authoritarian tendencies, he’s a contender worth supporting. This may well be a battle that defines our time.
