President Donald Trump on Wednesday cancelled millions in funding for a 60-year-old Catholic charity in Miami that\u2019s helped resettle about 14,000 Cuban children in South Florida, according to the Archdiocese of Miami.<\/p>\n
The cancellation comes a day after Archbishop Thomas Wenski (leader of the Archdiocese of Miami) rebuked Trump for disparaging remarks he made against Pope Leo XIV. Trump\u2019s latest social media feud features what might be his biggest opponent yet: the entire Catholic Church, as clergy from all around the world responded to his most recent social media attacks.<\/p>\n
The latest social media sparring match began after Pope Leo XIV made one too many comments about God not choosing sides in war and frowning upon those who use his name to justify violence<\/a>, something Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has been wont to do<\/a>. Clearly unhappy with another world leader daring to question his attacks on another country, Trump responded on Truth Social (the social media site he founded).<\/p>\n \u201cPope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,\u201d\u00a0Trump wrote in the post<\/a>\u00a0about a man whose office is dedicated to peace and, specifically, is currently\u00a0on a tour of Africa<\/a>\u00a0being chased by adoring fans. \u201cHe talks about \u2018fear\u2019 of the Trump Administration, but doesn\u2019t mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organizations, had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside, and being ten and even twenty feet apart. I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn\u2019t! I don\u2019t want a Pope who thinks it\u2019s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. I don\u2019t want a Pope who thinks it\u2019s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country.\u201d<\/p>\n But in the days after local clergy, including Palm Beach Diocese Bishop Manuel de Jes\u00fas Rodriguez Perez and Archbishop Wenski, chimed in supporting the pope, Trump decided to axe about $11 million in funding for a longtime Catholic charity in Miami.<\/p>\n In a Monday interview with\u00a0The Miami Herald<\/a> before the funding cut, Wenski said, \u201cThe pope doesn\u2019t have to please anybody except the Lord,\u201d adding that some people \u201cwill be upset\u201d and others \u201cwill applaud what he says,\u201d but that Pope Leo is not looking for reactions one way or another. \u201cAs religious leaders we should be political but not partisan,\u201d Wenski said. \u201cPolitics is about how we organize society \u2026 and the church has something to say about that. What ways we can organize society that will increase human flourishing?\u201d<\/p>\n The Office of Refugee Resettlement has paid Catholic Charities in Miami for years to house immigrant children entering the U.S. without parents. The charity played a massive role in the U.S. State Department\u2019s \u201cOperation Pedro Pan,\u201d a clandestine immigration initiative that brought more than 14,000 unaccompanied Cuban minors into the U.S. during the rule of Fidel Castro.<\/p>\n The news drew criticism from some politicians, like Florida State Sen. Ileana Garcia, who accused White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller of being behind the move to cut funding. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), she wrote that he \u201chas been fixated on the issue of unaccompanied minors for a long time. This situation presented an ideal opportunity for him. His obsession began during the first Trump administration when he was merely a speechwriter, yet he made daily calls to DHS. He\u2019s relentlessly pursued this narrative, data at hospitals, birthright, even reaching out to agencies like DCF, the creeper is always seeking ways to shape the conversation around unaccompanied minors.<\/p>\n \u201cHis motivation isn\u2019t about whether these children are trafficked or not; he simply does not want them in the UNITED STATES. In his mind, much like Hitlers, he believes he\u2019s shaping the ideal American #Grooming His contempt for non-white individuals reveals his true character.\u201d<\/p>\n @StephenM<\/a> has been fixated on the issue of unaccompanied minors for a long time. This situation presented an ideal opportunity for him. His obsession began during the first Trump administration when he was merely a speechwriter, yet he made daily calls to DHS. He’s relentlessly\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/ugF2wRtp4E<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/9jCLU4d9qh<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ileana Garcia (@IleanaGarciaUSA) April 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n White House press representatives didn\u2019t respond to New Times\u2019 request for comment.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t