Italian PM, politicians back Pope after Trump criticism
Italian political and church figures rallied behind Pope Leo after US President Donald Trump criticized the pope, leaving Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to balance Italy’s close ties to the Vatican with its alliance with the US leader.
Trump sparked outrage by calling Leo “terrible,” prompting a rare direct response from the pope who said he would continue to speak out against the U.S.-led war against Iran and defend immigrants.
Meloni made the first statement supporting Leo, who set out on an ambitious four-country visit to Africa, but did not specifically mention Trump’s positive aspects.
Opposition politicians accused him of lacking the courage to challenge Trump directly, prompting him to issue a second statement later in the day to clarify his position.
“I find President Trump’s words towards the Holy Father unacceptable. The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church and it is right and normal for him to call for peace and condemn all forms of war,” he said.
Meloni was the only European leader to attend Trump’s inauguration in 2025, and he hoped their friendship would strengthen his standing at home and abroad.
But Trump risks becoming a liability, with 66 percent of Italians having a negative view of the US leader.
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who has had close ties with Trump in the past, also distanced himself from the US leader on Monday.
“Pope Leo is a spiritual leader for billions of Catholics, but beyond that, if there is anyone who strives for peace, it is Pope Leo, and therefore attacking him seems neither wise nor useful,” he said in a statement.
The fact that the Pope is the bishop of Rome and the spiritual leader of millions of Italian Catholics makes politicians of all stripes wary of appointing him.
“Centuries have passed since such a blatant act of aggression against a Roman pontiff was seen,” former progressive prime minister Matteo Renzi said, adding that defending Leo was vital for Catholics and non-believers alike.
“After all, unlike Trump, he is someone who ‘builds bridges’ and destroys relationships and civilization. His only advantage is this: Trumps come and go, popes remain,” he said.
The comment echoed the Italian saying “chi mangia papa crepa”, which roughly translates to “he who tries to swallow the Pope dies”; It was a proverb born out of centuries of tension between successive papacies and temporal rulers.
Pointing to the House of Savoy, Italy’s royal family, which clashed with the Vatican many times in the 19th century and disappeared while the papacy was alive, church historian Alberto Melloni said, “Trump made the mistake of the century, because ‘chi mangia papa crepa’ has been confirmed again and again.” he said.
Antonio Spadaro, a Roman Catholic priest and undersecretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education, said Trump’s online post exposed his own weakness.
Spadaro wrote of X: “If Leo were irrelevant, he would not be worth any comment. Instead he is invoked, named, challenged; a sign that his words matter.”
“This is where the moral power of the church emerges. Not as a counter-power, but as a space where power is judged by a standard it does not control.”
