Pope Leo XIV on Trump Administration: No Fear

Leo, the first American-born Catholic pontiff, also has criticized the war and called for an end to the fighting, saying “God does not bless any conflict.” · The comments have angered Trump, who said in a Truth Social post that the pope ...

Catholics around Atlanta share mixed feelings on faith and politics as Trump engages in rhetorical war with pope ... Pontiff says that despite ‘certain narrative that has not been accurate’, he will continue to preach message of peace

Pope Leo XIV shed his previous image as he denounced war in the Middle East and responded assertively to criticism by President Donald Trump.

As the trip wore on, the pope’s subsequent criticisms of authoritarian behavior were viewed as being aimed as much at Mr. Trump as they were at African leaders. Collectively, his increasingly forthright comments also appeared to suggest that a previously cautious pontiff had finally found his voice. He didn’t always seem to like how people took what he said.

Leo XIV is the first pope from the Order of Saint Augustine and the second pope from the Americas (after Pope Francis), and is counted as the 267th pope. He is a dual citizen of Peru and the United States. He is the first American pope, in the sense of being the first born in the United States.

There are three other popes that are claimed to have lived longer than Pope Leo XIII: Pope St Agatho (574–681), who died at the age of 107; Pope Gregory IX (1145–1241), who died at the age of 96; and Pope Adrian I (700–795), who died at the age of 95. However, although there is some contemporary documentation attesting to their ages, there is not sufficient evidence for them to be verified with complete certainty; this is due to the poor record keeping typical of the era in which they lived.

Hermannus Contractus may have been the first historian to number the popes continuously. His list ends in 1049 with Leo IX as number 154. Several changes were made to the list during the 20th century. Christopher was considered a legitimate pope for a long time but was removed due to how he obtained the papacy.

Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost, became the 267th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church following his election on May 8, 2025. He is the first Augustinian and the second Pope from the Americas, after Pope Francis. Prior to his election, he served as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops ...

Despite not being Catholic, Trump has shown an interest in the papacy, joking that he’d “like to be pope,” and then sharing an AI-generated image of himself as pope on social media following the April 2025 death of Pope Francis. But Trump’s tongue went from being in-cheek to barbed recently regarding Francis’ successor, American-born Pope Leo XIV, calling him “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” in a social media post.