Donald Trump is accustomed to criticism from coast to coast — Democrats, disaffected Republicans, late-night comedians, protesters. Yet Trump's most influential American critic doesn't live in the country but at the Vatican. The first American pope has directly assailed the American president over the war in Iran. Pope Leo XIV declared that Trump's belligerence was "truly unacceptable." Never before has the relationship between Washington and the Vatican revolved around two Americans — a 79-year-old politician from Queens and a 70-year-old pontiff from Chicago. They come from the same generation and share some common cultural roots yet bring jarringly distinct approaches to their positions of vast power. And the relationship comes with risks for both sides.
By COLLEEN BARRY and TRISHA THOMAS Associated Press
Pope Leo XIV has carried a wooden cross at the Colosseum to mark his first Good Friday as pontiff. This is the first time in decades a pope has carried the cross to every station of the Way of the Cross. Speaking earlier, Leo emphasized the importance of spiritual leadership and carrying the world's suffering in prayer. Thousands gathered to follow the stations recited over loudspeakers. The meditation, prepared for Leo's first Good Friday, highlighted the responsibility of those in power.
Pope Leo XIV has spoken publicly about his childhood in Chicago for the first time as pontiff. Leo recalled Thursday that from the age of six he used to get up early to serve as an altar boy at the 6:30 a.m. Mass before going to school. Leo shared the memories during an unscripted visit with the children of Vatican employees who are attending the Holy See's summer camp. The visit, which was not announced in advance, took place in the Vatican's main audience hall, which was decked out with huge inflatable bouncy castles.
Pope Leo XIV has affirmed that priests must be celibate. And he has insisted that bishops take "firm and decisive" action to deal with sex abusers. Leo met Wednesday in St. Peter's Basilica with about 400 bishops and cardinals from 38 countries attending this week's special Holy Year celebrations for clergy. He gave them marching orders on what bishops must do to lead their flocks. It's an issue the former Cardinal Robert Prevost would have long pondered given his role as the prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Bishops. In that job from 2023 until his election in May, Prevost vetted bishop nominations for Pope Francis, identifying the type of leader who would further Francis' view of a church where all are welcome and dialogue is the decisive form of governance.
Pope Leo XIV has met with members of the Vatican's child protection advisory commission for the first time amid questions about his past handling of abuse and demands from survivors that he enact a true zero tolerance for abuse policy across the Catholic Church. The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors is made up of religious and lay experts in child protection, as well as abuse survivors. The commission called the hourlong audience a "significant moment of reflection, dialogue, and renewal of the church's unwavering commitment to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable people." The Vatican did not provide the text of Leo's remarks or make the audio of the audience available to reporters.
The contrast between President Donald Trump and Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV couldn't be more stark, politically, personally or in their world views. They lead in different roles and realms. But Leo's historic election last week to lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics as the first U.S.-born pope means that the two most powerful people on the planet are Americans. That raises questions about American influence at a time when Trump's tariff wars and "one way or the other" threats have upended eight decades of global order and sparked distrust among allies toward the U.S. The prospect of too much American power in geopolitics is considered one reason that the Catholic Church had never elected an American to the papacy.
