Donald Trump launched a new public attack against Pope Leo XIV yesterday, just 48 hours before the scheduled visit of Secretary of State Marco Rubio to the Vatican this Thursday at 11:30 AM in the Library of the Apostolic Palace.
The statements were made during a televised phone interview with conservative journalist Hugh Hewitt on the Salem News Channel, and have caused great bewilderment in Rome at a time when U.S. diplomacy is trying to mend its strained relationship with the Holy See.
Trump's accusations against the Pope
The trigger was a question from Hewitt about why the pontiff does not mention the case of Jimmy Lai, the imprisoned Catholic activist from Hong Kong.
Trump deflected the question and launched an attack against León XIV.
"The pope prefers to speak about the fact that for Tehran it's acceptable to have a nuclear weapon, and I don't think that's a positive thing," the leader asserted.
He went further and extended the accusation to the faithful.
“I believe he is putting many Catholics, many people at risk, but I imagine that if it were up to him, it would be fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” he reiterated.
The statement contradicts the official doctrine of the Catholic Church, which categorically opposes both the use and possession of nuclear weapons, a position upheld for decades and reiterated by Pope Leo XIV himself.
A confrontation that dates back a long time
This episode is the final chapter of a conflict that erupted on April 7, when León XIV described Trump's threat to destroy "an entire civilization" in the context of the United States and Israel's war against Iran as "unacceptable."
Trump responded on April 13 on Truth Social with an unprecedented attack against the pontiff, labeling him as "weak on crime" and "terrible on foreign policy," while questioning the legitimacy of his election.
"Leon should be grateful because it was a shocking surprise. He wasn't on any list to become Pope, and he was only placed there by the Church because he was American," asserted the U.S. president.
He went so far as to say: “If I weren’t in the White House, León wouldn’t be in the Vatican”; and he demanded that the pontiff “stop serving the radical left and focus on being a great Pope, not a politician.”
In parallel, Trump canceled a contract of over 60 years with Catholic Charities of Miami for 11 million dollars for the care of migrant children, a decision that the Archbishop of Miami directly linked to tensions with the pontiff.
Rubio's mission: Building bridges
Given this situation, Rubio's visit to the Vatican aims to restore the bilateral relationship, which has been damaged by the massive deportations of immigrants, the aggressive foreign policy, and Trump's direct attacks on the pontiff.
Rubio, a conservative Catholic of Cuban descent, attempted to downplay the criticisms before embarking on the trip.
"Obviously, there were things that happened. There is much to discuss with the Vatican," he said, referencing religious freedom in Africa and the situation in Cuba.
The U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Brian Burch, anticipated a "frank conversation" and noted that "one way to overcome differences is through fraternity and authentic dialogue."
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