It is a patently false contention to tell religious leaders to mind things moral and spiritual and leave temporal or materialistic management of human affairs to politicians alone. In other words, the segregation of religious bodies and the state can be acceptable up to a point. But when the state uses its powers to destroy human lives, brings miseries to women and children and ruin economic well-being of millions of people, some may think it can be a sin for religious leaders to remain silent and thereby acquiesce in the brutality of political leaders. Pope Leo XIV, the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has turned out to be a shining example by choosing not to keep quiet and go hammer and tongs against the wanton killings and devastation ordered by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who declared a one-sided war against Iran. It could be a mere coincidence that he is also an American which may perhaps have enabled him to understand the psyche of fellow-Americans – Trump and Vice President JD Vance – and stand up to their warmongering.
The Pope did not attach any importance to the disparaging and uncalled for remarks of Trump and Vance on his criticism of the war and went on iterating his anti-war stance, when a war is not in self-defence, but a brazen exhibition of brute force without any cause. It is good that US bishops rallied behind him for denouncing these leaders who invoke religion to justify war. This could indicate the bishops, who remain in constant touch with common citizens through church activities, have realized where the US public sentiment lies. That may have given them the courage to openly support the Pope. This is also a strong indication the MAGA movement that catapulted Trump to power the second time, has started petering out. With most known MAGA faces falling out with Trump on the war issue, the future for the Republican Party may not be as unassailable as it had seemed a few months earlier.
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That the Pope is not bothered by the attacks on him by Trump and his lieutenants became amply clear when he said again, during his recent trip to Africa, that the world is being “ravaged by a handful of tyrants” who spend billions on war. The comments are likely to escalate further Leo’s almost week-long feud with the White House over the US-Israel war on Iran. He expressed his opinion without mentioning Trump’s name in Cameroon on 16 April. His comments came as US bishops offered their vociferous support to him after he had been under fire from Trump for speaking out against the Iran war.
It is a cliché to speak about how billions of dollars are spent on arms while millions of people in the world die of starvation and suffer from malnutrition and lack of education for want of money. The Pope showed exemplary courage to articulate the fact in the most powerful and passionate words. “Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” Leo told a gathering at Saint Joseph Cathedral in the western city of Bamenda.
He did not stop at that and went on to say that these leaders turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, even when the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found. He made it clear to reporters earlier on a plane to Algeria at the start of his trip that he did not fear Trump.
This calls for courage to take on the most powerful, arrogant and narcissistic political leader of the world presently. Trump had even the gumption to post an image on his Truth Social platform depicting himself being embraced by Jesus with the US flag as a backdrop. This was days after a backlash from supporters – including many on the religious right – forced him to delete an AI-generated image portraying the robed President as a Christlike healer of the sick.
The Pope explained that he does not see his role as that of a politician and as such he does not want to enter into a debate with Trump. In the same breath he made his intent clear that he will continue to speak strongly against war, seeking to promote peace, dialogue and multilateralism among states to find solutions to problems. The world needs such a sobering, spirited and intrepid voice to bring leaders, drunk with power, back to their senses.
