President Donald Trump was octagon-side at a bloody Ultimate Fighting Championship in Miami even as Vice President JD Vance was announcing in Pakistan that negotiations with Iran had collapsed, but there was another, globally significant event that same day. It was also the time of pope Leo XIV’s worldwide vigil for peace at a precarious time.
The juxtaposition brought to mind a dismissive remark that Stalin of the Soviet Union is said to have made during World War II, in the time of Pope Pius XII.
“The Pope? How many divisions has he got?” the dictator said, by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s account.
Trump would have an easier time with the current pontiff if it were a military contest that could be resolved by having “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth deliver more unrelenting death from above, in his words, “no quarter, no mercy.”
But in Pope Leo, our president faces someone of actual faith who deploys direct, simple sentences that get to the heart of an issue. The very simplicity of his unadorned words during Saturday’s Peace Vigil amidst the splendor of Saint Peter’s Basilica gave them all the more power.
“Nothing can confine us to a predetermined fate, not even in this world where there never seem to be enough graves, for people continue to crucify one another and eliminate life, with no regard to justice and mercy,” he said.
Trump subsequently attacked the pope on Truth Social as if he were just a political opponent, saying he is “WEAK on crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” Trump, 79, called on the Vicar of Christ to “stop catering to the radical left.”
“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump said, even though the pope had never suggested any such thing.
The pope was asked for a response by reporters aboard a plane bound for Algeria and the start of a 10-day tour of Africa. He again quietly demonstrated the power of exactly the right words, quietly trumpeting what is what.
“It’s ironic — the name of the site itself,” he said, adding, “Say no more.”
Truth Social never strayed farther from the truth than when Trump posted an image of himself as a Jesus-like figure in a robe conferring healing powers on an ailing man. Trump-Jesus is surrounded by an American eagle and warplanes half morphed into demons and a Lady Liberty crown, along with a healthcare worker and a soldier in camo.
Even many Trump supporters were offended, among them the Knights Templar International.
“The Knights Templar Order and its ruling Council demand that this offensive and blasphemous image be removed forthwith,” the group posted. “We supported President Trump in 2016 and 2024 (NY Times attributed our support in 2016 to be part of his victory) However we are deeply offended by this and have no other choice but to condemn it wholeheartedly and ask for a public apology to the Christian brethren who have been deeply upset by this depiction.”
The group added, “We respectfully remind President Trump of the Bible Scripture found in Galatians 6:7 ‘God will not be mocked.’”
Trump took the photo down. But he stuck by his attacks on Leo, saying, “There’s nothing to apologize for. He’s wrong.”
In his Sunday night tirade, Trump suggested that Pope Leo had only been chosen because the Vatican wanted to appease Trump by choosing the first American-born pope.
But to Trump’s consternation, Pope Leo is proving to be American at its best; forthright and compassionate and resolute in the face of America at its worst; a grasping and greedy bully accustomed to having his mendacious way.
“I have no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do,” the pope told the press aboard the Algeria-bound plane.
He also said, “Too many people are suffering today, too many innocent people have been killed, and I believe someone must stand up and say that there is a better way.”
The Pope Leo who is standing up to Trump seems to be little changed from when he was Father Bob, photographed in secular bliss as he sat with longtime family friend and fellow White Sox fan Edward Schmidt in Section 140 at Rate Field during game one of the 1985 World Series. Schmidt’s grandson, Eddie, then five, was seated next to the future pope.
20 years ago today, Pope Leo XIV attended Game 1 of the World Series
— Sox On 35th (@SoxOn35th) October 22, 2025
pic.twitter.com/8Vc7XJoqso
“He’s a great guy,” a grown Eddie Schmidt told The Daily Beast on Monday. “I think everything he stands for is good, and he’s trying to do good things around the world. It’s what I think everybody needs now.”
The marketers at the Chicago White Sox were inspired to announce that “specialty ticket” purchases would receive a papal miter. That prompted an uproar among fans who pointed out that this ran contrary to the pontiff’s egalitarian views. The team will now be presenting one to every fan who attends the game on August 11.
“I’m trying to make it to that one, maybe grab myself a pope hat,” Schmidt said.
In the meantime, Trump will be hosting a UFC cage match on June 14, his 80th birthday.
“We’re having a fight at the White House,” he told the press on Monday. “We’re going to have an area right at the front door.”
He also spoke of another kind of fight, this in Cuba, once the one in Iran is done.
“We may stop by Cuba after we’re finished with this,” he said.
The pope, who has multiple generations of Cubans on his mother’s side, has warned that we have entered a time when “war is in vogue.” And, being America at its best, he talks of peace and justice as more than just an absence of combat. He made that clear at his peace vigil.
“Enough of the idolatry of self and money!” he said. “Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life.”
Pope Leo then ventured into what Trump would likely describe as lunacy on Monday.
“We must share what we have as a matter of justice. It is unjust to accumulate wealth and remain indifferent to others.”
He continued, “This view of justice is both simple and radical, for it recognizes the image of God in others. A religion without mercy and a society without solidarity are a scandal in God’s eyes.”
So sayeth the truly American pope.
