Rev Spadaro told the BBC that while dialogue was happening behind the scenes in “places of power”, the Pope also had to make public pronouncements against the conflict to “mark the moral limit” of what was acceptable.
So what is the view from Vatican City about some convergence between US Catholics on the left and right in their backing of Pope Leo’s anti-war messaging?
“He does not unite everyone, of course,” says Rev Spadaro. “But Pope Leo moves the Catholic debate away from a purely partisan track.”
There are questions about why President Trump would post an AI image that was certain to alienate and offend some of his supporters. Unusually, he did back down and delete it.
And there are questions about the the motive of the tirade against Pope Leo. For some, it appeared to be designed to diminish the Pope’s opposition to the war.
“But in trying to delegitimise, Trump’s attack implicitly acknowledges the weight of the pope’s moral voice,” says the Vatican’s Rev Spadaro.
“If Leo were irrelevant, he would not deserve a word. Instead, he is invoked, named, opposed – a sign that his words matter.”