成人X站

NATIONAL NEWS

On social media, Pope Leo XIV has shared criticism of Trump and Vance over policies

May 8, 2025, 2:33 PM

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday,...

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Elected Thursday as the Catholic Church’s first global leader to hail from the United States, Pope Leo XIV is in a new job that will have many crossovers into politics 鈥 a realm not entirely unknown to the Chicago-born priest, whose social media history includes sharing criticism of Trump administration policies and of comments by Vice President JD Vance.

President Donald Trump has wished the new pope well in his role, calling Leo’s election 鈥渟uch an honor for our country.鈥 But it comes days after Trump posted an artificial intelligence-generated image of himself dressed as pope amid days of official mourning for Pope Francis. That act raised eyebrows at the Vatican and was denounced by former Italian Premier Romano Prodi as indecent political interference in matters of faith.

And last month, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced the end of a half-century of partnerships with the federal U.S. government to serve refugees and migrant children, saying the 鈥渉eartbreaking鈥 decision followed the Trump administration鈥檚 abrupt halt to funding.

The majority of Leo’s posts on the X platform are related to or in support of Catholic news and church initiatives. He rarely writes original content, but a look back through his social media timeline shows numerous posts sharing viewpoints opposed to moves aimed at restricting acceptance of migrants and refugees in the U.S.

Leo has recently criticized U.S. Vice President JD Vance

Vance, a convert to Catholicism, is the most high-profile Catholic in American politics. He’s drawn attention from the man who now leads the global church, prompting Leo to return to X after a nearly two-year absence to share criticism of the vice president’s views.

In early February, Leo shared an article from a Catholic publication with the headline, 鈥淛D Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn鈥檛 ask us to rank our love for others.鈥

It came days after Vance 鈥 in discussing critiques of the Trump administration鈥檚 immigration policies 鈥 in a Fox News interview had referenced a Christian tenet 鈥渢hat you love your family and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then after that, prioritize the rest of the world.鈥

In response to online criticism of his position, Vance posted on X, 鈥淛ust google 鈥榦rdo amoris.鈥 Aside from that, the idea that there isn鈥檛 a hierarchy of obligations violates basic common sense.鈥

鈥淥rdo amoris,鈥 a historic Catholic tenet, translates to 鈥渙rder of love.鈥

Ten days after his initial post, Leo shared another piece from a Jesuit publication, titled, 鈥淧ope Francis鈥 letter, JD Vance鈥檚 鈥榦rdo amoris鈥 and what the Gospel asks of all of us on immigration.鈥

Prior to his first February post, Leo had been dormant on X since July 2023.

After Leo’s election Thursday, Vance posted congratulations on X, adding, 鈥滻鈥檓 sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church. May God bless him!”

His last post before becoming pope was critical of the Trump administration

The pope’s final post as Cardinal Robert Prevost was a recirculation on April 14 of a post by church chronicler Rocco Palmo about Trump’s Oval Office meeting with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele.

Bukele said it was 鈥減reposterous鈥 for his country to bring a Maryland man who was wrongly deported there in March back to the U.S., despite a Supreme Court ruling calling on the administration to 鈥渇acilitate鈥 Kilmar Abrego Garcia鈥檚 return.

Leo reposted Palmo’s link to an article by Washington-area Bishop Evelio Menjivar 鈥 who was born in El Salvador 鈥 asking, 鈥淒o you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?鈥

His sharing of critiques dates back nearly a decade

As Trump’s campaign ramped up in July 2015, Leo posted to X a Washington Post op-ed by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, with the headline, 鈥淲hy Donald Trump鈥檚 anti-immigrant rhetoric is so problematic.鈥

In the wake of Trump’s first election in 2016, Leo reposted a homily in which Los Angeles Archbishop Jos茅 Gomez 鈥 characterizing the fear among many, including schoolchildren who 鈥渢hink the government is going to come and deport their parents, any day now” 鈥 said that America is 鈥渂etter than this.鈥

Days later, Leo also posted an article by a Catholic outlet quoting Democrats as saying that, in her loss, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton 鈥渋gnored pro-lifers at her own peril.鈥

In September 2017, months into Trump’s first term, Leo recirculated a post by author-activist Sister Helen Prejean saying she stands 鈥渨ith the and all people who are working toward an immigration system that is fair, just, and moral.鈥

He also reposted church chronicler Rocco Palmo’s piece with the teaser, 鈥淪aying Trump鈥檚 鈥榖ad hombres鈥 line fuels 鈥榬acism and nativism,鈥 Cali bishops send preemptive blast on DACA repeal.鈥

___

Meg Kinnard can be reached at

National News

Abeer and Fadi Sobh gather in their tent with their children at a camp for displaced Palestinians i...

Associated Press

From dawn to dusk, a Gaza family focuses on one thing: finding food

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) 鈥 Every morning, Abeer and Fadi Sobh wake up in their tent in the Gaza Strip to the same question: How will they find food for themselves and their six young children? The couple has three options: Maybe a charity kitchen will be open and they can get a pot […]

19 minutes ago

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of ...

Associated Press

After a reference to Trump’s impeachments is removed from a history museum, complex questions echo

NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 It would seem the most straightforward of notions: A thing takes place, and it goes into the history books or is added to museum exhibits. But whether something even gets remembered and how 鈥 particularly when it comes to the history of a country and its leader 鈥 is often the […]

1 hour ago

FILE - Clouds hover over the entrance of the Florida State Prison in Starke, Fla., Aug. 3, 2023. (A...

Associated Press

DeSantis set a Florida record for executions. It’s driving a national increase

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) 鈥 In the final moments of a life defined by violence, 60-year-old Edward Zakrzewski thanked the people of Florida for killing him “in the most cold, calculated, clean, humane, efficient way possible,” breathing deeply as a lethal drug cocktail coursed through his veins. With his last breath, strapped to a gurney inside […]

1 hour ago

Devon Wells, a junior at Perry Central High School, welds a metal calf feeder at Halo Farms, where ...

Associated Press

Rural US high schools are offering more college-level classes, but college can still be a tough sell

PERRY, N.Y. (AP) 鈥 As a student in western New York’s rural Wyoming County, Briar Townes honed an artistic streak that he hopes to make a living from one day. In high school, he clicked with a college-level drawing and painting class. But despite the college credits he earned, college isn’t part of his plan. […]

1 hour ago

Anthony Matesic works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, July 14, 202...

Associated Press

It’s Trump’s economy now. The latest financial numbers offer some warning signs

WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 For all of President Donald Trump鈥檚 promises of an economic 鈥済olden age,鈥 a spate of weak indicators this week told a potentially worrisome story as the impacts of his policies are coming into focus. Job gains are dwindling. Inflation is ticking upward. Growth has slowed compared to last year. More than six […]

1 hour ago

Associated Press

Former US soldier is suspected in Montana bar shooting that killed 4, prompting search

A shooting at a Montana bar Friday left four people dead, and law enforcement officers were searching for a suspect described by his niece as a former U.S. soldier who struggled to get help for mental health problems. Officers searched a mountainous area west of the small town of Anaconda for the 45-year-old suspect, Michael […]

1 hour ago

On social media, Pope Leo XIV has shared criticism of Trump and Vance over policies