Washington and Rome
Donald Trump can't afford to alienate America's Catholics
Back in May 2025, when Pope Leo XIV was chosen—the first American ever to occupy the papal seat—I predicted a test of “ultimate loyalty” for American Catholics in the coming months and years. I didn’t say exactly when it would come, only that it would. Now, I think, it may be here.
That’s bad news.
There had been some pretty loose talk that Robert Prevost would finally be a “based” pope, largely because his brother is one of those boomers who posts memes on Facebook about Michelle Obama’s ding-dong, pours Monster on his cornflakes at breakfast, and has a tiny Asian wife whose name he either can’t pronounce or can’t remember—maybe both.
But John Prevost had disappointing news even before his brother donned the papal tiara. He had no doubt, he said, that his brother would be “following in [Pope] Francis’s footsteps.”
“I know he’s not happy with what’s going on with immigration,” the brother said, as he rode his lawnmower.
“I know that for a fact. How far he’ll go with it is anyone’s guess, but he won’t just sit back. I don’t think he’ll be the silent one.”
Pope Francis had spent the last few weeks of his life criticising Trump and his flagship policy of mass deportation. In February 2025, he wrote a letter to America’s Catholic bishops telling them that Trump’s plan to turn 20 million illegals into squirty cheese was a “crisis” and would damage “the dignity of many men and women.”
Franco’s also used the letter to criticise JD Vance’s understanding of the ordo amoris, the scheme of “rightly ordered love” which the Vice President had invoked to justify Trump’s immigration policy.
Vance handled the Pope’s criticism with grace, saying as a “baby Catholic”—i.e. a recent convert—he still had much to learn.
Truth is, Francis had always hated Trump. He was just making the most of his final moments to say what he’d wanted to say all along. During the 2016 election campaign, he had travelled to the Mexican border and said it was “not the Gospel” to think “only about building walls” rather than “building bridges,” directly implying Trump was not a Christian.
Of course, it would be nice to have a Pope who supports the idea of borders and national sovereignty, rather than one whose beliefs and public pronouncements differ little from those of an overweight female middle-school teacher with rainbow-colored hair and cat fur all over her sweater.
Still, a man can dream.
Catholicism has been a live political issue for Americans since the Foundation, and the issue of “dual loyalty” stalked American Catholics long before Israel was even a twinkle in Lord Balfour’s eye. Because Prevost is American, I predicted he would feel more intense pressure than an Argentine or a Pole to speak about events in America and, inevitably, to condemn them. This, I predicted, would set him on a collision course with President Trump. It was only a matter of time.
Anyway, I think the moment has come, but it isn’t immigration that’s done it.
In recent weeks, Pope Leo has been increasingly outspoken about the Iran war. This culminated in a prayer vigil on Saturday night at which Leo condemned the “idolatry of the self” and the “delusion of omnipotence” that he believes is motivating the war. This was obviously a reference to Trump, even if his name wasn’t mentioned.
Leo also appeared to take a swipe at Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, saying God does not hear the prayers of world leaders with “hands full of blood” or “who wage war.” Hegseth has led prayers at the Pentagon during the war and publicly in front of the press.
President Trump blasted back on Sunday night.
