World5 min(s) read
Published 16:28 14 Apr 2026 GMT
Pope Leo XIV has posted a message on X that many believe was aimed squarely at Donald Trump and JD Vance - though characteristically, he didn't name either of them.
The post came after a turbulent 24 hours that saw the president share an AI image of himself as Jesus, attack the head of the Catholic Church on Truth Social, and then claim the whole thing was actually a picture of him as a doctor.
"God's heart is torn apart by wars, violence, injustice and lies," Leo wrote.
"But our Father's heart is not with the wicked, the arrogant, or the proud.
"God's heart is with the little ones and the humble, and with them He builds up His Kingdom of love and peace day by day. Wherever there is love and service, God is there."
The timing of the message - landing just hours after Trump's explanation and Vance's defence of his boss - has led many to view it as a carefully worded rebuke.
The post caps off an extraordinary few days of tension between the White House and the Vatican.
It started on Sunday night when Trump launched a scathing attack on Pope Leo on Truth Social, branding him 'WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy' after the pontiff criticised the US-led war in Iran.
Trump even claimed credit for the Pope's election, writing: "If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican."
Minutes later, he posted the now-infamous AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus Christ healing a sick man - complete with biblical robes, glowing hands, and what appeared to be demonic horned figures in the background. The image was posted on Orthodox Easter.
When pressed by reporters, Trump offered a somewhat surprising explanation.
"It wasn't a depiction, I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor, and had to do with red cross as a red cross worker, which we support and only the fake news could come up with that one," he said.
He added: "It's supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better, and I do make people better."
Vice President JD Vance - who converted to Catholicism as an adult - then waded in on Fox News, offering a slightly different take to his boss.
"I think the president was posting a joke," Vance told host Bret Baier.
"He took it down because he recognized that a lot of people weren't understanding his humor in that case."
The White House has not clarified whether the image was intended as a depiction of a doctor, a joke, or something else entirely - though it is worth noting that the picture was quietly deleted from Truth Social on Monday morning.
Vance also weighed in on the broader dispute with the Vatican, suggesting the Pope should stay out of political matters.
"I certainly think that in some cases it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality, to stick to matters of what's going on in the Catholic Church, and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy," he said.
It is worth noting that the Pope's criticisms that sparked this row were about war, civilian casualties, and the treatment of immigrants - topics that many would argue fall firmly within the realm of morality.
.jpg_9MdBvK?tr=cr-0.0.1024.768,f-webp,q-75)
The Pope had already responded on Monday aboard the papal plane as he departed for an 11-day tour of Africa, telling reporters: "I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel."
He added: "We are not politicians. We don't deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it.
"But I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker."
Then came the post on X.
While the Vatican hasn't confirmed the message was directed at any individual, the timing - following Trump's 'doctor' defence and Vance's suggestion that the Pope should 'stick to morality' - has led many online to draw their own conclusions.
The phrase 'not with the wicked, the arrogant, or the proud' is about as close to a subtweet as a sitting Pope is ever likely to get.
Whatever Leo's intentions, one thing is clear: the first American Pope has shown no signs of backing down from this particular dispute.
And his approach - measured words rather than capital letters - continues to offer a striking contrast to the tone coming from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.
