00:00Pope Leo launched veiled jabs at President Trump over the United States' involvement
00:04in Iran.
00:05I have no fear of neither the Trump administration nor of speaking out loudly about the message
00:10of the gospel.
00:11We're not politicians, we're not looking to make foreign policy, as he calls it, with
00:16the same perspective that he might understand it.
00:19All while the Commander-in-Chief rattled off a firestorm of criticism against the world's
00:24leading Catholic on social media.
00:26We don't like a pope that's going to say that it's okay to have a nuclear weapon.
00:31We don't want a pope that says crime is okay in our city.
00:35I don't like it.
00:36I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo.
00:37Why are Pope Leo and President Trump feuding?
00:40Here's everything you need to know.
00:42In a rambling post on Truth Social on April 12th, President Trump slammed Pope Leo the
00:4714th after the American pontiff shared continued rebukes to the US military operations in Iran.
00:53Pope Leo is weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy.
00:58The President wrote in a night-time posting blitz.
01:01I don't want a pope who thinks it's okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.
01:04I don't want a pope who thinks it's terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a country that
01:09was sending massive amounts of drugs into the United States, and even worse, emptying
01:14their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our country.
01:19And I don't want a pope who criticizes the President of the United States, because I'm
01:23doing exactly what I was elected in a landslide to do, setting record low numbers in crime,
01:29and creating the greatest stock market in history.
01:32Trump later proclaimed that if he hadn't been elected president, then Pope Leo, quote,
01:37wouldn't be in the Vatican.
01:38Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise.
01:43He wasn't on any list to be pope, and was only put there by the church because he was
01:47an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald
01:50J. Trump.
01:51Trump then went a step further, posting an AI-generated image portraying himself as a Christ-like figure.
01:58The depiction quickly went viral, sparking widespread condemnation, including Trump supporting
02:03conservative figures who were appalled by the image.
02:06The President deleted the post with the image the following morning, later claiming to the
02:10press that the image wasn't supposed to be a depiction of Jesus.
02:13It wasn't a picture, it was me, I did post it, and I thought it was me as the doctor,
02:19and had to do with the Red Cross as a Red Cross worker there, which we support, and only
02:25the fake news could come up with that one.
02:27Pope Leo, the first American-born pontiff, has been adamantly against the US and Israel's
02:32attacks in Iran, and has shared several messages promoting peace in the region.
02:36At the end of March, Pope Leo called the wars in the Middle East a, quote, scandal for the
02:40whole human family, and a cry before God.
02:43Non possiamo rimanere in silenzio di fronte alla sofferenza di così tante persone vittime
02:51inermi di questi conflitti.
02:54Ciò che li ferisce ferisce l'intera umanità.
02:59La morte e il dolore provocati da queste guerre sono uno scandalo per tutta la famiglia umana,
03:08e un grido al cospetto di Dio.
03:10But as the war continued to rage in the following weeks, Leo, who hasn't mentioned Trump by name
03:14in his speaking out against the conflict, also started ramping up his criticism.
03:18During a Palm Sunday Mass, the Pope sent an unyielding message to world leaders.
03:23Fratelli, sorelle, questo è il nostro Dio, Gesù, re della pace, un Dio che rifiuta la guerra,
03:35che nessuno può usare per giustificare la guerra, che non ascolta la preghiera di chi fa la guerra
03:42e la rigetta dicendo, anche se moltiplicaste le preghiere, io non ascolterei, le vostre mani grondano sangue.
03:54After his calls for a ceasefire seemed to fall on deaf ears, the Pontiff's dissents came to a head
04:00when on April 7th, Trump ominously declared on Truth Social that, quote,
04:04a whole civilization will die tonight, amid his looming 8pm deadline for Iran to cut a deal
04:10or face an onslaught of attacks on its bridges and power plants.
04:14Leo called the threat, quote, truly unacceptable and doubled down on his calls for a peaceful resolution.
04:20Asking all people of goodwill to search always for peace and not violence, to reject war,
04:28especially a war which many people have said is an unjust war.
04:33I would invite the citizens of all the countries involved to contact the authorities, political leaders,
04:40congressmen, to ask them, tell them to work for peace and to reject war always.
04:47The Pontiff later celebrated the two-week ceasefire agreement, calling it a, quote, sign of genuine hope.
04:52But Trump's rambling post came one day after the Chicago-bred Pontiff condemned the, quote,
04:57idolatry of self and delusion of omnipotence during a prayer service in Rome.
05:02Enough of the idolatry of self and money. Enough of the display of power. Enough of war. True strength is
05:11shown in serving life.
05:13While slamming the Chicago-born Pope in his Truth Social post, Trump also lauded Leo's estranged brother,
05:19and outspoken supporter of the president, 73-year-old Louis Prevost, with praise.
05:24I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA.
05:29He gets it and Leo doesn't, the president wrote.
05:32The 70-year-old Pope said on April 13th that he doesn't want to get into a debate with the
05:36president,
05:37and that he would continue to speak out against conflict, promoting peace instead.
05:41The message of the church, my message, the message of the gospel, blessed are the peacemakers.
05:48I do not look at my role as being political or politician. I don't want to get into a debate
05:54with him.
05:55I don't think that the message of the gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people
06:00are doing.
06:01And I will continue to speak out loud against war, looking to promote peace,
06:06promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to the problems.
06:13Trump originally celebrated Leo's appointment as a, quote,
06:16great honor for our country, but apparently hasn't been impressed by his service,
06:20alleging that the pontiff was, quote, catering to the radical left.
06:23On top of his rebukes of the Iran War, Leo has jumped into the fray to comment on U.S.
06:28issues.
06:29The Pope called for Venezuela to remain an independent country after the capture by U.S. forces
06:34of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and turned down Trump's offer to join his Gaza Board of Peace.
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