A Scottish Catholic charity has praised the new Pope for “speaking truth to power” in repeated clashes with Donald Trump during his first year in the Vatican.
American pontiff Leo XIV has been at odds with the US administration on a number of issues including its disastrous war with Iran.
Trump’s feud with the Pope escalated to new heights in recent weeks when he slammed the worldwide head of the Catholic Church as “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy”.
It came after Pope Leo repeatedly criticised US action in the Middle East denouncing the “delusion of omnipotence” that he claimed fuelled the assault – and branding Trump’s threat to annihilate Iranian civilisation as “truly unacceptable”.
View 3 ImagesPresident Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House
Ben Wilson, public engagement director at the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (Sciaf), told the Sunday Mail: “Pope Leo stands out as a moral leader in an era of history where all too many are looking inwards towards their own narrow self-interests.
“After just one year since taking over his role as the head of 1.3bn Catholics, Pope Leo has established himself as a beacon of hope in an increasingly turbulent world.”
Friday marked a year since the Vatican revealed Pope Leo as its newest figurehead following the death of Pope Francis in April 2025.
Wilson added: “When Pope Leo took office, some commentators felt that the Catholic Church had deliberately selected an American Pope to act as a counterweight to the US President.
“However, I never quite agreed with that assessment. Pope Leo was only 69 when taking office, relatively youthful as Popes go.
“The cardinals who selected him knew that they were picking someone who is likely to serve for a very long time.
“That means that Pope Leo will see many US presidents come and go, as he will British Prime Ministers.
“Pope Leo’s year in office has also been marked by his courage to speak truth to power.
“Pope Leo knows that his duty is to champion peace, care for the planet and care for the poorest, and it is only through being a constant beacon of light in these areas that he can command the respect to build bridges across the world.
“At a time when the world feels increasingly unstable, Pope Leo has been a breath of fresh air, and a reason to stay hopeful.”
In his attack on the Pope on his Truth Social website, Trump wrote: “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 Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”
View 3 Images(Image: @realDonaldTrump)
But his lambasting of the Pope drew sharp backlash from Christians in the US and around the world. Trump also faced criticism just hours later for posting an AI image of himself as a Jesus-like figure before deleting it, claiming he thought he was portraying a doctor.
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At the height of the dispute last month, US vice president JD Vance, a Catholic, warned the Pope to be “careful when he talks about matters of theology”.
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