A prominent Minnesota Catholic bishop with close ties to President Donald Trump is sharply criticizing the president for his social media comments over the weekend lambasting the pope.
President Trump posted a long tirade on his Truth Social account Sunday night criticizing Pope Leo XIV, calling him “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy” and “WEAK on Nuclear Weapons.” The president accused the first ever U.S. born pope of “catering to the Radical Left,” and he credited himself as the reason Pope Leo was elected by his fellow cardinals last year to lead the Vatican.
The pope has been critical of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, calling Trump’s threat last week to destroy Iran’s “entire civilization” as “truly unacceptable.” It appears those comments and the Pope’s even harsher criticism of the war on Saturday are what sparked Trump’s social media diatribe.
Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, who has been a close Catholic ally of the president, called Trump’s verbal attack on the pope “entirely inappropriate and disrespectful," adding that the comments “don’t contribute at all to a constructive conversation.”
“It is the Pope’s prerogative to articulate Catholic doctrine and the principles that govern the moral life,” Barron wrote on X. “In regard to the concrete application of those principles, people of good will can and do disagree.”
Barron softened his criticism a little by adding that he thinks there are “many ways that the Trump administration has reached out to Catholics and other people of faith.” But he added that “the President owes the Pope an apology.”
Pope Leo’s comments the day before may have provoked Trump’s ire.
At a special prayer vigil Saturday night at St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo denounced the “delusion of omnipotence” that is fueling the U.S.-Israel war in Iran and said political leaders need to stop and negotiate peace.
"Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life," Leo said.
Even after Trump’s lengthy critique of him Sunday night, Pope Leo told reporters Monday he’s not backing down.
“I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the church is here to do,” said Pope Leo aboard his plane as he started his trip to Africa.
That same day, Trump told reporters at the White House that he will not apologize to the pope.
“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.
In his tweet, Bishop Barron, who sits on the president’s Religious Liberty Commission, offered an olive branch and called for an end to the war of words between the White House and the Holy See.
“I would warmly recommend that serious Catholics within the Trump administration–Secretary Rubio, Vice President Vance, Ambassador Brian Burch, and others–might meet with Vatican officials so that a real dialogue can take place,” Barron continued in his post. “This is far preferable to the statements on social media.”
Barron has a wide base of support on social media, and his words come with some heft. He is well known for his Word on Fire media empire of books, videos, web casts, and blogs and has amassed 2.5 million YouTube subscribers.
In November, he was one of the candidates for the most prominent leadership role in the American Catholic Church – president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He did not win the election.
