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7h ago

Pope Leo Downplays Feud With Trump as Vance Welcomes Clarification

His message suggests a bid to lower tensions without retreating from appeals for peace.

Pope Leo XIV celebrates a public Mass at the Stade Louis-II stadium in Monaco on March 28.
A bridge struck by US airstrikes is seen in the town of Karaj, west of Tehran, Iran, on April 3, 2026.
House Speaker Mike Johnson walks to the House Chamber at the US Capitol on April 15, 2026.
Pope John Paul II addresses a crowd during a visit to the Jasna Gora monastary in Czestochowa, Poland, in June 1979.

Overview

  • Pope Leo, speaking to reporters Saturday during his Africa trip, said media coverage built an inaccurate story about a rift and that he is not interested in debating the president.
  • Vice President JD Vance said he was grateful for the clarification and argued the press inflated the conflict, even as he continues to defend the Iran campaign using just war language.
  • The administration and its allies cite Catholic just war doctrine to justify force against Iran, while Cardinal Blase Cupich and the U.S. bishops say the campaign fails core tests like last resort, clear aims, and proportionality.
  • Trump supporters interviewed at events in Las Vegas and Phoenix told reporters the pope should stay out of U.S. war decisions, with many backing Trump’s view that strikes are needed to block an Iranian bomb.
  • Coverage has widened to a fight over religious imagery and theology, from Trump’s AI Jesus posts to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s prayer appeals, with analysts warning this debate over what Christianity says about war could deepen if the Iran conflict continues.