On Easter Sunday, Pope Leo XIV, the Vatican’s first American pope, spoke against war and encouraged leaders to drop their weapons. He also said that God does not accept the prayer “of those who wage war” and also condemned “the imperialist occupation of the world.”
Although Pope Leo did not take any names directly while offering his comments and stance on war, it was a little too evident to whom he was referring. Throughout his second term, President Trump has described himself as a “president of peace,” though his administration has taken military actions abroad, including heightened tensions with Iran.
The jabs at the Trump administration’s approach to military policy, however, did not come in a single day. The tensions date to January, when Cardinal Christophe Pierre was summoned by Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s undersecretary of defense for policy.
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Vatican officials briefed on the meeting told The Free Press on the condition of anonymity and said that Pierre was told that the US has the military power to do “whatever it wants,” and that Pope Leo, “better take its side.”
One US official “went so far as to invoke the Avignon Papacy,” referring to the 14th-century period when the French crown exerted control over the papacy.
Colby, a Catholic, is a close ally of Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert. He served in Trump’s first administration and was appointed to his current role during Trump’s second term.
According to The Free Press, Pentagon officials had a problem with the inaugural State of the World Address given by the Pope as they had issues with how Leo challenged Trump’s “Donroe Doctrine,” saying, “A diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force, by either individuals or groups of allies.”
Rome-based journalist Mattia Ferraresi reported that relations between Pope Leo and the Trump administration deteriorated after his election on May 8, 2025. Leo was invited to the White House to mark the United States’ 250th anniversary, but declined.
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A Vatican official also told The Free Press, “The Pope may well never visit the United States under this administration.” However, a spokesperson for the Defense Department has described the meeting rather differently from the Vatican officials.
The spokesperson said, “The meeting between Pentagon and Vatican officials was a respectful and reasonable discussion. We have nothing but the highest regard, and welcome continued dialogue with the Holy See.”
Despite the conflicting accounts by the Defense Department spokesperson and the Vatican officials, the rift between Trump and Pope Leo is quite evident.
Leo’s comments on how God would reject the prayers of those who wage war had previously led to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defending the Trump administration’s stance of invoking religion in matters of battle.
The Pope has been consistently preaching messages of peace, which essentially stand in contrast with Trump’s actions of violence. The President, while claiming to be the flag bearer of peace, has continuously waged war on different nations, leading to deaths and decay of the American people and economy.
With the revelation of this confrontation between the Pentagon and the Vatican, it now remains to be seen how the Pope responds to the same and if the President has anything more to add to it.
