Bishop Barron broke silence on Trump’s attack on Pope Leo XIV.
Minnesota Bishop Robert Barron, a member of Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission, who faced criticism in the past for his engagement with the Trump administration, broke his silence on President Donald Trump’s attack on Pope Leo XIV and said the statements were inappropriate and disrespectful. Trump on Monday blasted the first American pope in a lengthy Truth Social post, accusing him of being “WEAK on Crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy.” He added that he doesn’t “want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States.” “Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician,” Trump said.After his tirade, Trump posted an illustration where he appeared like Jesus to heal a sick man. Pope Leo reacted to Truth Social outburst and said he had no fear of the Trump administration. “I have no intention of having a debate with him,” Leo said.The US Conference of Catholic Bishops expressed their dismay over Trump’s attack. “I am disheartened that the President chose to write such disparaging words about the Holy Father,” said Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the organization, in a statement on social media. “Pope Leo is not his rival; nor is the Pope a politician. He is the Vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls.” Bishop Barron is considered MAGA-friendly. He was recently criticized for not objecting to a comment during an Easter lunch event at the White House when televangelist Paula White-Cain compared Trump to Jesus Christ. Paula told the president that, like Christ, he had been ‘betrayed and arrested and falsely accused’, and that ‘because of his resurrection, you rose up’. Standing behind her, Trump smiled and thanked her. Bishop Barron was present at the event and his silence was questioned. “It is the Pope’s prerogative to articulate Catholic doctrine and the principles that govern the moral life. In regard to the concrete application of those principles, people of good will can and do disagree. I would warmly recommend that serious Catholics within the Trump administration–Secretary Rubio, Vice President Vance, Ambassador Brian Burch, and others–might meet with Vatican officials so that a real dialogue can take place. This is far preferable to the statements on social media,” Bishop Barron wrote Monday. “I am very grateful for the many ways that the Trump administration has reached out to Catholics and other people of faith. It has been a high honor to serve on the Religious Liberty Commission. No President in my lifetime has shown a greater dedication to defending our first liberty. All that said, I think the President owes the Pope an apology,” Bishop Barron said.
