Vatican visitors criticise Donald Trump over comments on Pope Leo XIV and war rhetoric

Visitors at the Vatican criticised US President Donald Trump on Tuesday after Trump attacked Pope Leo XIV online. The comments followed Pope Leo XIV urging calmer language around war. Trump described the US-born pontiff as weak. Trump also said Pope Leo XIV was captive to the radical left.

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The dispute drew wider attention after Pope Leo XIV called Trumps threats toward Iran truly unacceptable. While Pope Leo XIV was away on a 10-day trip to Africa, tourists and pilgrims in Vatican City defended the pope. Several visitors said the pope had a duty to speak about peace and global concerns.

Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV clash draws reaction at the Vatican

Joerg Soler, visiting from Switzerland, questioned why Trump criticised the pontiff’s role. "Its just ridiculous, because if the pope is not speaking about peace, and is not taking care about every people in the world, hes not the pope,\" Soler said. Others nearby described Trump’s remarks as out of line for a political leader.

Mariella Acciaioli, a French tourist, said the episode showed a wider problem with political behaviour. \"Its completely inappropriate,\" Acciaioli said. \"Things are getting too much. We need to mobilize everyone, especially our leaders, to deal with this behavior that is going beyond every limit.\"

US tourist Paul Sarauskas said Trump went too far by criticising a religious figure. \"I think he needs to keep his nose out of religion. Hes telling the pope what to do. Hes telling the pope how to do his job,\" Sarauskas said. Sarauskas added that Pope Leo XIV focused on peace and helping others.

Sarauskas also contrasted the pope’s message with the approach of the current administration. \"Where the pope just wants to do good things, right? He wants to talk about peace, about helping other people, whereas the current administration is doing something completely opposite. Theyre just tearing people apart. Theyre talking about division and war and hate.\"

Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV tensions assessed by Vatican observers

Italian journalist Massimo Franco said Trump seemed to expect the American pope to follow the US line. Franco recently wrote a book titled Popes, Dollars and Wars about U.S.-Vatican relations. Franco argued that Pope Leo XIV had to address a wider audience than one nation.

\"A pope must be a pope. He must respond to a wider community. And if he sees that Trumps policy risks to give a distorted view of the United States, I think the pope is helping the United States as well, not just the United States, to find the right path,\" Franco said.

The Rev. Antonio Spadaro, an Italian Jesuit theologian, also weighed in on the row. Spadaro is undersecretary to the Vaticans Dicastery for Culture and Education. Spadaro said Trump’s anger at a moral voice showed weakness. Spadaro spoke to Italian Radio 24.

\"He cant bring the pope to the same terrain where he has brought everyone else, where he can dominate with language,\" Spadaro told Italian Radio 24.In this sense, the moral force of the church is evident. It is not a counter-power but a space in which power is being judged by criteria that power itself cannot control.

The online exchange continued to dominate discussion as Pope Leo XIV remained abroad in Africa. At the Vatican, visitors kept defending the pope’s right to urge restraint in war rhetoric. The clash also highlighted how US politics can spill into religious debate. Observers said the pope’s stance was framed as a moral position.

With inputs from PTI