Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has broken with her closest ideological ally in the West, publicly rebuking US President Donald Trump for attacking Pope Leo XIV — as the pontiff himself hit back at Trump with a pointed swipe at Truth Social.
The spat erupted after Pope Leo XIV, in a Palm Sunday address, criticised Trump’s threats to destroy Iranian civilisation and warned that God does not answer the prayers of those whose “hands are full of blood or who wage war.”
Meloni: “Unacceptable”
Meloni, who has maintained unusually close ties with Trump’s administration, issued a rare rebuke in a Monday statement, saying: “I find President Trump’s words towards the Holy Father unacceptable. The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and it is right and normal for him to call for peace and to condemn every form of war.”
She also called on the pope’s ministry to play a bridging role in global conflicts.
“May the Holy Father’s ministry help foster the resolution of conflicts and the return of peace, both within nations and among them,” she added.
Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini also distanced himself from Trump’s remarks, describing them as a “blatant act of aggression” against the pontiff. “If there is one person striving for peace, it is Pope Leo, and so attacking him does not seem either wise or helpful. It has been centuries since such a blatant act of aggression against the Roman pontiff was seen,” Salvini said.
Trump’s Extraordinary Broadside
Trump had slammed Pope Leo in a Sunday night post, describing the pontiff as “weak on crime, and terrible for foreign policy.”
He went further, questioning the legitimacy of Leo’s elevation to the papacy.
“I don’t want a pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. I don’t want a pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a country that was sending massive amounts of drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our country,” Trump wrote.
He then made an extraordinary personal claim: “Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise. He wasn’t on any list to be pope and was only put there by the church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”
The Pope Bites Back
Pope Leo XIV refused to stay silent. Speaking to journalists on Monday, the pontiff said he had no fear of the Trump administration, while describing Trump’s Truth Social post as ironic. “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. It’s ironic — the name of the site itself. Say no more,” Pope Leo said.
What Sparked the Row
The Pope’s Palm Sunday address had rebuked Trump for threatening to destroy Iranian civilisation, warning that God does not answer the prayers of those whose “hands are full of blood or who wage war,” and admonishing world leaders to put an end to ongoing global bloodshed.
The confrontation between the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics and the sitting US president — both Americans — marks one of the most dramatic public clashes between Washington and the Vatican in modern memory, and has drawn condemnation from European allies who typically avoid direct criticism of the Trump administration.
