Pope Leo XIV delivers his message as he leads a vigil for peace inside St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Gregorio Borgia/Associated Press
After President Donald Trump took to social media Sunday to voice complaints about Pope Leo XIV’s opposition to war with Iran, the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth voiced support for the pontiff and criticized Trump for posting a “blasphemous” image depicting himself as Jesus.
“The most recent remarks of the President of the United States attacking Pope Leo XIV for the discharging of his Apostolic duty as the Vicar of Christ were disrespectful and disappointing,” Bishop Michael Olson said in a statement Monday.
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Leo, the first U.S.-born pope in the history of the Catholic Church, has repeatedly appealed for peace in recent weeks in light of the U.S.-Israel war in Iran, which is currently in a fragile ceasefire. In a Sunday night post on social media, Trump called Leo “weak on crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”
Trump early Monday also posted, and later deleted, an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus healing a person. Later Monday, Trump sought to explain himself by saying he thought the image depicted himself as a doctor, according to reporting by the Associated Press.
The post sparked backlash from many Catholics and some of Trump’s other loyal conservative Christian backers.
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In his statement, Olson called the image “highly insulting and blasphemous” and said the President owes both Leo and Catholics an apology.
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“While the President claims that he mistakenly thought that the image portrayed was him as a doctor and not as Christ and that he did not intend the blasphemy, the fact remains that a member of his staff did prepare the image of him in the place of Christ and the President should be clear as to how he will hold his staff accountable for such a disrespectful action,” Olson said.
The American Pope vs. The American President
During Holy Week and Easter, Leo focused on peace and escalated his opposition to the conflict in the Middle East.
When Trump later threatened to destroy the entire civilization of Iran, Leo said the threat was “truly unacceptable.” The pope encouraged people to contact their representatives, “to ask them, tell them to work for peace and to reject war.”
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The U.S. president unloaded his frustrations with the U.S.-born pope in his social media post and said Monday that he would not apologize.
“He was very much against what I’m doing with regard to Iran, and you cannot have a nuclear Iran. Pope Leo would not be happy with the end result,” Trump said, according to the Associated Press.
Following Trump’s posts, Leo said, “I’m not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, which is what the Church works for.”
In Olson’s statement, the bishop said Leo is challenging the world to abandon the principle that the ends of war justify the means. Olson emphasized that Leo and his papal predecessors have condemned violence perpetrated by the state of Iran.
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On Sunday, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued a brief statement in response to Trump’s remarks on Leo, saying he was “disheartened.”
“Pope Leo is not his rival; nor is the Pope a politician. He is the Vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls,” Coakley said.
A spokesperson for Bishop Edward Burns of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas referred The News to the Coakley’s statement.