Pope Leo’s American Roots Give Him a Unique Political Power
When the pontiff speaks, America’s Catholics listen. That’s becoming a problem for Donald Trump — and for Marco Rubio and JD Vance.
Illustration: Adara Sánchez for Bloomberg
Addressing reporters on a recent flight to Algeria, Pope Leo XIV invoked the gospel, called himself a peacemaker and pledged to keep speaking out on behalf of the downtrodden. “Too many people are suffering in the world today,” he said. “Too many innocent people are being killed, and I think someone has to stand up.”
Pontiffs have a tradition of weighing in on global strife, and Leo’s words were in keeping with longstanding church teaching. Appearing in front of reporters in this fashion was also not new: Pope John Paul II began taking questions from journalists on the papal plane in the 1970s. But the first American pope was in fact wading into an unprecedented political tempest — responding to a series of broadsides from US President Donald Trump that drew Leo into debates over the war with Iran, immigration policies and more, all while Catholics in the US and around the world looked on.