Source: Radio New Zealand
Pope Leo XIV and Donald Trump. AFP
A Catholic leader says Donald Trump’s comments about the Pope are totally wrong and unjustified.
Donald Trump is criticising Pope Leo after the head of the global Catholic Church preached against war and urged peaceful solutions to conflict.
Cardinal John Dew took part in the conclave that elected Pope Leo.
He told Checkpoint Pope Leo has a right to plead for peace and a moral duty to oppose the destruction of war.
That comes after President Donald Trump called Pope Leo weak on crime, terrible for foreign policy and suggested he stop catering to the radical left.
Trump also claimed if he was not in the White House, Pope Leo would not be in the Vatican.
The comments have drawn wide criticism from religious and other leaders.
But President Trump’s doubled down saying he would not be apologising.
“We don’t like a pope that’s going to say that it’s okay to have a nuclear weapon, we don’t want a pope that says crime is okay in our cities. I don’t like it I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo.”
Trump’s statements on social media followed Pope Leo’s Sunday prayer service in St Peter’s Basilica.
There was no mention of the United States or President Trump.
But the Pontiff spoke of the power of prayer.
“It is here that we find a bulwark against that delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive,” Pope Leo said.
“Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”
Pope Leo was not backing down either.
“The message of the church, my message, the message of the gospel, blessed are the peacemakers. I do not look at my role as being political, a politician.
“I don’t want to get into a debate with him, I don’t think that the message of the gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing.
“I will continue to speak out loudly against war hoping to promote peace, promoting dialogue in all bi-laterial relationships among the states to look for just solutions and promise.
“Too many people are suffering in the world today, too many innocent people are being killed and I think someone has to stand up and say there’s a better way to do this.”
Cardinal John Dew said the pope has the right to speak out on issues that affect the world. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Cardinal Dew said that he and many others believed Trump’s comments about the pope were totally wrong.
“The pope has a right to speak up on issues that affect the world, issues such as world peace.”
Prior to the conclave, world peace was a major issue because of the war between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and the Palestinians, he said.
“Pope Leo certainly heard from the cardinals that working for peace and speaking out for peace was something that he would need to be doing and that he is doing very clearly and strongly with the message of the gospel behind everything he says.”
US Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic, told Fox News that the pope should “stick to matters of morality”.
But Cardinal Dew said that war was a moral matter.
“It’s a moral issue when people are being attacked, when whole nations are being threatened … which means that people are losing their lives, their livelihood, their homes are being completely destroyed and left homeless – that’s a moral issue.”
The pope and others have the right to speak out for peace and plead for peace, he said.
Many people heeded Pope Leo’s call to pray for peace, he said.
Even in New Zealand last weekend many people gathered to pray for peace, over and above the usual Sunday masses and services, he said.
Pope Leo did not specifically mention Donald Trump or the war in Iran in his comments, but Dew said the pope was “political enough to know that he shouldn’t be mentioning the president by name”, he said.
“But he is making a point that affects the whole world that the world needs to stop and think about why there are wars and are they being caused by greed or selfishness or wanting more land which again are moral issues.”
Dew said it seemed that democracy was being ignored at the moment.
“So the pope is saying look we need to think of these values, these things that shaped our world for so long and have helped us to live in ways that everyone is respected, that people are cared for and that all people look after one another and they’re not just attacked for no reason.”
Dew said leaders should not declare a war with no consultation simply because they believed it was the right thing to do.
“The threats of people just being annihilated are not the way that any leader should be running a country or speaking about any other countries in the world.”
Dew rejected that Donald Trump had anything to do with the election of Pope Leo.
Dew thought that Trump should apologise to Pope Leo.
“Yes I think he should but I don’t think he’ll get it … I don’t think anyone has the right to speak about another world leader in the way that the pope has been spoken about.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
