{"id":243507,"date":"2026-04-23T17:15:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T17:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/243507\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T17:15:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T17:15:42","slug":"miami-catholics-react-to-feud-between-pope-leo-and-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/243507\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami Catholics react to feud between Pope Leo and Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Since<\/p>\n

Since President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV exchanged words over the war in Iran, some Catholics in Miami have had to negotiate their political and religious beliefs. Picture here is mass at Gesu Catholic Church in downtown Miami. <\/p>\n

Alie Skowronski<\/p>\n

askowronski@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n

Weeks before the clash between Pope Leo XIV and President Donald Trump began, the pope called on all Catholics and people of good will to contact their political leaders to demand an end to the war in Iran. The plea came days after Trump threatened to destroy the entire Iranian civilization \u2014 an attack the pope described as \u201ctruly unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ellie Hidalgo, a devout Catholic living in Miami, said that she was one of many people at her parish who heeded the pope\u2019s call. She contacted local elected officials and the White House, asking them to \u201cdo everything in their power to bring this war to an end and to negotiate a cease fire,\u201d Hidalgo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told them that, as a Catholic, my values are to prioritize negotiating peace and ending this war,\u201d she said. \u201cI asked them to do this for our children and grandchildren … we want peace to protect their futures.\u201d<\/p>\n

The compounding offenses from Trump in recent weeks \u2014 from calling for the elimination of an entire civilization, to publicly criticizing the pope and posting an image depicting himself as a Christ-like figure \u2014 have revealed underlying tension among Catholics, including those who have been the president\u2019s most vocal supporters.<\/p>\n

\"Pope Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowd from the main balcony of St. Peter’s basilica for the Urbi et Orbi message and blessing to the city and the world as part of Easter celebrations, at St Peter’s square in the Vatican on Sunday, April 5, 2026. ALBERTO PIZZOLI\/AFP TNS <\/p>\n

\u201cFor Many Christian believers, Catholics and Christian believers, this is a violation in their minds of the first and the second commandments,\u201d which instruct believers to not worship false idols, said Quardricos Bernard Driskell, an ordained minister and professor of religion and politics at The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management.<\/p>\n

The tension between the nation\u2019s two most prominent leaders reveals \u201cjust how deeply religion has been politicized in the American political context,\u201d said Driskell. \u201cHow much will [Trump\u2019s] religious supporters stick with him to the very end, given all of these varying dynamics?\u201d<\/p>\n

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops rallied behind the pope, saying in a statement<\/a> that a just war is \u201cdefense against another who actively wages war\u201d and that the pope is \u201cpreaching the Gospel and exercising his ministry as the Vicar of Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miami\u2019s own Archbishop Thomas Wenski reminded the faithful last week<\/a> that while this isn\u2019t the first time the church has clashed with political leaders, \u201cthe pope doesn\u2019t have to please anybody except the Lord.\u201d South Florida is home to over one million Catholics, according to the Archdiocese of Miami or 30 percent of adults, according to Pew Research Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Archbishop Archbishop Thomas Wenski addresses the abrupt cancellation of an $11 million federal contract with Catholic Charities, in addition to the immediate and long-term impact on services for unaccompanied minors and the broader humanitarian mission of the Archdiocese. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, some Christians in Miami, a place known for its cultural, religious and political diversity, are grappling with something of an identity crisis as the dispute puts their religious and political beliefs at odds.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s especially true for Catholics, who have also been reeling from the Trump administration\u2019s decision to defund a refuge<\/a> run by the Catholic Church for unaccompanied migrant children. The move to defund the program, which benefitted many Cuban children fleeing communism, has sparked outcry from South Florida political and religious leaders<\/a> \u2014 including members of the president\u2019s own party.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s calling into question all of one\u2019s identities at this intersection of politics and culture,\u201d Driskell said.<\/p>\n

Humanity over politics<\/p>\n

A few days after the pope urged people to call their representatives to oppose ongoing war, Catholics around the world came together for a Saturday prayer vigil to \u201cpray for peace,\u201d which coincided with the pope\u2019s own at St. Peter\u2019s Basilica where tens of thousands gathered.<\/p>\n

At Hidalgo\u2019s parish, Our Lady of Divine Providence Church, over 100 people showed up to the 8:30am Saturday mass. During the prayer vigil, which was broadcast live by Vatican News and other media outlets, Pope Leo continued his urgent call for ending the war. Speaking about the world\u2019s leaders, he said<\/a>, \u201cTo them we cry out, Stop! It is time for peace! Sit at the table of dialogue and mediation, not at the table where rearmament is planned and deadly actions are decided!\u201d<\/p>\n

The uniqueness of the situation, a pope from the United States using the teachings of the Catholic Church to promote civic action, struck Hidalgo as inspiring.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s asking us to fervently pray for peace and for an end to this war, but then also to call our elected representatives and let them know that we want them to work for peace,\u201d Hidalgo said. \u201cFor Catholics, it\u2019s such a core part of our Gospel value \u2014 \u2018Blessed are the peacemakers.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A A woman prays after receiving ashes on her forehead during Ash Wednesday mass on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, at Gesu Catholic Church in downtown Miami. The mass was fully packed with standing room only at the back of the church. Alie Skowronski askowronski@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

Brittany Quintana Marti, a lifelong Miami Catholic and attorney, said she doesn\u2019t see the pope\u2019s calls for a ceasefire as overtly political. For her, the pope\u2019s stance \u201cfeels like a very spiritual position,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is the function of religion which is to have people rely on faith and to teach people the golden rule, which is to love your neighbor as yourself. To me, it\u2019s not political. It\u2019s a human dignity type situation,\u201d said Marti, an alum of Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, an all-girls Catholic school in Miami. Marti now regularly attends St. Thomas the Apostle Church with her family.<\/p>\n

Marti, who is Cuban American, said she is openly against Trump and expresses opinions that are often in the minority among the parents at her children\u2019s school, who she said lean conservative. Many of Marti\u2019s friends or acquaintances within the Catholic community vote Republican, she said, but that identity is tied to their Hispanic roots, as many have relatives who have fled communist countries.<\/p>\n

Their political identity is almost a form of protest, she said: \u201cI am not communist, and therefore I\u2019m Republican. So I am Republican, therefore I am loyal.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, the current feud between the pope and the president is perhaps raising questions from friends and family who identify as conservative but are finding it more difficult to support the president, she said.<\/p>\n

Marti said this is evident in the private texts she receives from friends or family expressing outrage over the AI-generated photo of Trump looking like a religious figure. She compares these private messages to \u201ca bat signal,\u201d she said. \u201cThey feel like they want to almost purge their opinions off their chest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of moms are second guessing, really down to a core level, like, is this the Catholic sort-of teaching that I want to teach my children?\u201d she said. \u201cTo behave like these adults?\u201d<\/p>\n

Family members disagree over Trump<\/p>\n

Raul Rios, 78, a conservative Catholic in Miami, said his support for Trump has not wavered following the disagreements between the two leaders. Rios said he understands the church\u2019s pleas for peace, but in his eyes, the war is a necessary evil.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump\u2019s philosophy is to beat through strength,\u201d he said, adding that the president had no choice but to \u201ctake action,\u201d against the Iranian regime, which has been oppressive towards the people of Iran for decades. \u201cIf you do not stop abuse, that\u2019s a sin. It\u2019s the 11th sin, which is omission.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rios said he views the pope\u2019s most recent statements about not wanting to \u201cdebate\u201d Trump as an apology to the president.<\/p>\n

Speaking to reporters over the weekend, the pope said he was not interested in engaging in a debate with the president and said that his trip to Africa is focused instead on peace-building rather than any personal clash.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe church has its place in the world, but the President of the United States has a very, very big responsibility, because he\u2019s not just a president, he\u2019s the leader of the biggest, most powerful nation,\u201d Rios said.<\/p>\n

Rios\u2019 sister-in-law, Mari Tere Brolley \u2014 also a devout Catholic and of Cuban descent \u2014 has the opposite feelings about the president\u2019s leadership. Brolley described herself as a \u201ccard-carrying Republican\u201d for most of her life, but now identifies as an Independent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t reconcile being Catholic and being pro Trump,\u201d she said, adding that her own Cuban American friends and family who support Trump \u201cshould know better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brolley, a regular parishioner of Saint Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Miami Beach, said she completely supports Leo\u2019s comments about the war and wants to see an even stronger stance from Catholic Church leadership on other issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Pope Leo has finally done what the Catholic Church needed to do,\u201d Brolley said.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The Catholic Church] should have been preaching Jesus\u2019 teachings as it related to the daily events going on from the very beginning of Trump\u2019s second term. Now they are, but it\u2019s too little too late,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Christ-like photo sparks backlash<\/p>\n

One thing all the Catholics who spoke to the Herald shared was a mutual disgust at the now-deleted AI-generated image Trump posted to his social media depicting him as a Christ-like figure.<\/p>\n

\"TOPSHOT This photo illustration shows a picture of President Donald Trump on a screen and an AI-generated picture he posted on his Truth Social platform depicting himself as a religious figure. MANDEL NGAN AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

But Driskell, the professor, said that the image seemed to offend even many in far-right Christian nationalist groups Trump has always counted on.<\/p>\n

Even evangelical faith leaders who\u2019ve been very vocal supporters of President Trump say that \u201cthe AI-generated image was blasphemous and a bridge too far,\u201d said Driskell. It might cost him that support, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis kind of presidential blasphemy, I think is a warning for many of his religious supporters about potential conclusions to the story,\u201d said Driskell.<\/p>\n

Trump later deleted the image, saying he had thought it depicted him as a doctor. But by then, religious and political leaders from around the world condemned the image, some calling it a sacrilege.<\/p>\n

Even for Rios, who voiced support for Trump\u2019s war efforts against Iran, the AI-photo was not something he can get behind.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s totally sacrilegious,\u201d said Rios. \u201cWhoever is using and abusing AI, whether it\u2019s for Trump, for the Pope or my grandmother, I think that is sacrilegious.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was produced with financial support<\/a> from Trish and Dan Bell and donors in South Florida\u2019s Jewish and Muslim communities, including Khalid and Diana Mirza and the Mohsin and Fauzia Jaffer Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Since President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV exchanged words over the war in Iran, some Catholics in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":243508,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":{"0":"post-243507","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hialeah","8":"tag-hialeah","9":"tag-hialeah-headlines","10":"tag-hialeah-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243507\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}