Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) is pushing back hard after President Donald Trump took aim at Pope Leo XIV in a blistering online post that stirred reaction from Catholics around the world.
“As a Catholic, I find it abhorrent that the President of the United States would publicly attack the Successor of St. Peter,” Sen. Kelly wrote on X.
He accused Trump of deflecting blame for the deadly conflict in Iran, saying the president was “flailing.”
“Donald Trump’s war in Iran has led to the death and injury of American servicemembers and the death of Iranian children. He will attack anyone or anything to try to protect himself, even the Church that millions of Americans find faith and comfort in every day,” he added.
Kelly’s comments came after President Trump unleashed a lengthy post on Truth Social calling Pope Leo “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy.” The president dismissed the pontiff as a “shocking surprise” choice and accused him of catering to the “Radical Left.”
Continued Fued
The feud between Trump and Pope Leo has been escalating for days, following the pontiff’s criticism of U.S. military actions in Iran. Pope Leo, who’s currently traveling through Africa, defended his call for peace from aboard the papal plane, telling reporters, “We have different ways of worshipping, different beliefs, and different ways of living—but we can live together in peace.”
Trump’s remarks drew sharp rebukes from Catholic leaders and now lawmakers like Kelly, who said Americans “deserve a president who understands the consequences of his words and takes responsibility for his actions.”
For Kelly, who represents Arizona and is one of the Senate’s most visible Catholic Democrats, the exchange touches both faith and politics.
His defense of the pope underscores growing concern among Catholics that the president’s rhetoric is crossing new lines, even as the pope himself continues preaching calm in the face of confrontation.
