Catholic bishops from America and Italy have defended Pope Leo XIV after Donald Trump’s incendiary social media posts.
The US president attacked the pontiff by accusing him of being “WEAK on crime and terrible for foreign policy” earlier today.
Archbishop Paul Coakley, head of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, said: “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.”
The Italian Bishops’ Conference also defended the 70-year-old American pontiff on Monday, saying Pope Leo was “not a political counterpart but the successor of Peter, called to serve the Gospel, truth and peace”.