April 14, 2026 // Bishop

Bishop Rhoades Offers Support for Pope Leo after Trump’s Social Media Attack

Todays Catholic

 

Bishop Rhoades added his voice to a chorus of other Church leaders offering support for Pope Leo following President Donald Trump’s April 12 social media attack in which he criticized the Holy Father for being outspoken against the United States’ war against Iran and called the pope “WEAK on crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”

In a statement released on Tuesday, April 14, Bishop Rhoades said he was “disheartened by President Trump’s disparaging words about our Holy Father this past Sunday. Pope Leo XIV is a messenger of the Gospel and, as he himself said, ‘not a politician.’ Of course, our Holy Father is called to be a herald of peace. He is the Vicar of Christ, the Prince of Peace. He has the responsibility as pastor of the universal Church and successor of St. Peter to proclaim the Gospel, to defend human life and dignity, and to advocate for peace among peoples and nations. The Holy Father points us to Our Lord’s teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God” (Mt 5:9). And he reminds us of our moral obligation to seek, promote, and pursue peace and to avoid war. This is indeed a matter of morality about which the Church’s voice needs to be heard.”

The statement continued, saying: “Last week, the Holy Father noted that ‘rejecting the logic of war may lead to misunderstanding and scorn.’ He also explained that the Church ‘proclaims the Gospel of peace and instills obedience to God rather than any human authority, especially when the inherent dignity of other human beings is threatened by continuous violations of international law.’ I am grateful that Pope Leo XIV continues to courageously proclaim the Gospel of peace, even when criticized or ridiculed. Let us pray for our Holy Father, our government leaders, and other leaders of nations. Let us continue to pray for peace in the Middle East and other troubled areas of the world.”

Bishop Rhoades’ statement echoes that of other Church leaders, including Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, who said in a statement he was “disheartened that the President chose to write such disparaging words about the Holy Father.”

A week after Trump’s tweet, Pope Leo pushed back against the media narrative that has pitted him against the president since the start of his 11-day apostolic journey to Africa, telling journalists aboard the papal flight to Angola on Saturday, April 18, that “there has been a certain narrative that has not been accurate in all its aspects.”

“Because of the political situation created when on the first day of the trip, the president of the United States made some comments about myself, much of what has been written since then has been more commentary on commentary trying to interpret what has been said,” Pope Leo said aboard the papal flight from Yaoundé, Cameroon, to Luanda, Angola.

“Just one little example: The talk that I gave at the prayer meeting for peace a couple of days ago was prepared two weeks ago, well before the president ever commented on myself and on the message of peace that I am promoting. And yet as it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate, again, the president, which is not in my interest at all,” he said.

The pope underlined to the roughly 65 journalists aboard the papal plane, including major TV networks and newspapers from around the world, “I primarily come to Africa as a pastor, as the head of the Catholic Church to be with and to celebrate with, to encourage and accompany, all of the Catholics throughout Africa.”

Following Trump’s tweet, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, who discussed Pope Leo in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired on April 12, told OSV News in an April 13 statement that Trump’s “recent statements and actions … convey a grave misunderstanding of the Holy Father’s ministry and a troubling lack of respect for the faith of millions.”

“Pope Leo serves a higher authority and desires to proclaim the Gospel faithfully and advance the Church’s peaceful mission in a world deeply in need of healing,” he said.

Other fellow leaders rallied around the pope in the wake of Trump’s broadside.

Holy Cross Father Robert A. Dowd, president of the University of Notre Dame, said in an April 13 statement that “Pope Leo XIV continues to proclaim the Gospel of Christ by upholding human dignity and serving as a tireless advocate for peace. His message transcends partisan political divisions in this or any country, and I’m deeply grateful for Pope Leo’s inspiring example. I ask members of the Notre Dame community to pray for peace and work together with all people of goodwill to build a more just and humane world.”

In an April 13 post on X, Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, called Trump’s statements about the pope “entirely inappropriate and disrespectful.”

“It is the pope’s prerogative to articulate Catholic doctrine and the principles that govern the moral life,” he said. “In regard to the concrete application of those principles, people of goodwill can and do disagree.” Bishop Barron added that the president “owes the pope an apology.”

But when reporters at the White House asked about Bishop Barron’s statement on Monday, April 13, Trump said he had “nothing to apologize for.”

“Pope Leo said things that are wrong, he was very much against what I’m doing with regard to Iran, and you could not have a nuclear Iran, Pope Leo would not be happy with the end result,” Trump said.

Archbishop George Leo Thomas of Las Vegas said in an April 12 statement that he was “grateful to God for sending us Pope Leo XIV, who is willing to speak truth to power just when we need him the most.”

“Pope Leo is calling for dialogue over diatribe, prayer over politics, and diplomacy above destruction,” said Archbishop Thomas. “We know that he will be unfazed by the President’s ad hominem attacks and sophomoric rhetoric.”

The archbishop said the pope is “doing what every spiritual leader is called to do — to pray for peace, to call for the protection of helpless civilians, and to plead for world leaders to end mass destruction and armed conflict in every part of the world.”

Trump’s social media tirade against Pope Leo was also compounded by a Truth Social post — delivered 46 minutes later — showing a Christ-like rendering of Trump in white and red robes, laying one glowing hand on a man on a sickbed looking up at him, with Trump’s other hand holding an orb of light. Surrounding the bed were at least four figures appearing to venerate Trump, who was framed by images of the Statue of Liberty, the Lincoln Memorial, the U.S. flag, warplanes, bald eagles, and five heavenly figures in military gear.

“The graphic exploitation of sacred imagery is deeply offensive and undermines the reverence owed to what believers hold most dear,” Cardinal Tobin told OSV News.

Amid the outrage, the AI-generated image was removed from Trump’s Truth Social feed on April 13. The president told reporters the same day that he thought the depiction had been of him “as a doctor making people better and I do make people better. I make people a lot better.”

“I did post it,” he said, “and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with the Red Cross.”

OSV News contributed to this report.