Religious Leaders Rebuke Trump Following Aggressive Attacks on Pope Leo XIV

Cardinal John Dew slams Donald Trump's criticism of Pope Leo XIV, defending the Pontiff’s right to preach peace amid the President's claims of Vatican influence.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 15, 2026, 4:15 AM EDT

Source: RNZ Pacific

A War of Words Over Global Peace

The conflict ignited following Pope Leo XIV’s Sunday prayer service at St. Peter’s Basilica, where the head of the Catholic Church delivered a searing message against the "delusion of omnipotence" and the "idolatry of self and money." While the Pontiff did not explicitly name the United States or its leader, his call to end the "display of power" was interpreted by the Trump administration as a direct critique of current American military and foreign policy maneuvers.

President Trump responded via social media, doubling down on his assertion that the Pope is "weak on crime" and "terrible for foreign policy." In a series of provocative statements, the President suggested that his presence in the White House was the only reason the Pope remained in the Vatican. "We don't like a pope that's going to say it's okay to have a nuclear weapon," Trump stated, despite the Vatican’s historical and consistent stance against nuclear proliferation.

Cardinal John Dew Defends Monastic Moral Authority

Cardinal John Dew, who participated in the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV, has emerged as a vocal defender of the Pontiff’s mandate. Speaking with Checkpoint, Dew emphasized that the Pope has not only a right but a moral duty to oppose the destruction of war. He rejected the notion that the Church should remain silent on matters of global security, arguing that when nations are threatened and homes are destroyed, the situation becomes a moral imperative rather than a mere political debate.

The Cardinal further dismissed President Trump's claim of having influenced the papal election as factually baseless. Dew noted that during the conclave, the cardinals explicitly signaled that the new Pope would need to be a strong voice for peace, particularly in light of ongoing conflicts involving Russia, Ukraine, Israel, and the Palestinians.