Donald Trump’s recent remarks targeting Pope Leo XIV have drawn further reactions, including from senior Church figures and commentators.
Paul S. Coakley, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, expressed concern at the tone used, stating: “I am disheartened that the President chose to write such disparaging words about the Holy Father. Pope Leo is not his rival; nor is the Pope a politician. He is the Vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls.”
Separately, Antonio Spadaro, a Jesuit priest, theologian and editor of La Civiltà Cattolica, offered a broader reflection on the situation.
Spadaro described the situation as revealing “a deeper unease,” arguing that when political power “turns against a moral voice, it is because it cannot contain it.” He added that Trump “does not discuss Leo,” but instead seeks to bring his message into “a language that power can dominate.”
According to Spadaro, the attack can be seen as “a declaration of impotence,” since “if Leo were irrelevant, he would not deserve a word.” He noted that the fact the Pope is “named, called out and fought” is itself proof that “his word has weight” and continues to influence public debate.
He also highlighted what he described as the moral strength of the Church, “not as a counter-power, but as a space where power is judged by a criterion it does not control.” In this context, Spadaro stressed that Pope Leo XIV “does not respond on the terrain of polemics,” and precisely for that reason “remains outside its grasp.”
He concluded by saying that this form of freedom, “disarmed and disarming,” is what most unsettles power today, while also being “what matters most” in the current global climate.
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