Palm Beach Bishop Takes Pope’s Side in Trump’s Social Media Feud

President Donald Trump over the weekend ramped up his online attacks on Pop Leo XIV, causing a whole chorus of Catholic clergy to take up social media thumbs against him. The bishop in Trump’s own back yard, Palm Beach Diocese Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodriguez Perez, even went as far as saying the president’s words were in violation of Constitutional rights.

The reality TV star created his political career out of making controversial (and strangely capitalized) claims on social media. But perhaps none has been as universally panned as his Sunday night attack on Pope Leo XIV, who may canonically be the most holy American of all time.

The attacks come as Trump and U.S. officials like Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have repeatedly made references to scripture in support of the war in Iran. Pope Leo XIV, the top official of the Catholic Church, has been an outspoken opponent of this stance. Trump took to Truth Social, a social media safe space of his own creation, to blast Leo XIV as being terrible on foreign policy and crime before devolving into his signature stream-of-consciousness style, with references to Catholic officials arresting priests during COVID, Leo XIV’s alleged approval of Iran having nuclear weapons, and Trump’s belief that he’s the only reason Leo XIV was elected pope.

“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” Trump wrote in the post about a man whose office is dedicated to peace and, specifically, is currently on a tour of Africa being chased by adoring fans. “He talks about ‘fear’ of the Trump Administration, but doesn’t mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organizations, had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside, and being ten and even twenty feet apart. I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn’t! I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country.”

(Perhaps Trump forgot the pope hasn’t taken a side in war for more than 100 years and actively works as a mediators in the name of peace.)

“And I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History,” Trump continues on his social media rant. “Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise. He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.

“Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

The latest attack on Leo XIV has stirred the church community, with many clergymen coming out in support of the pope. Palm Beach Diocese Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodriguez Perez took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to rebuke Trump.

“The @DiocesePB stands firmly with our Holy Father, @Pontifex_es, and we emphatically reject the disrespectful and violent attacks that President J. Donald Trump has directed at the Holy Father,” the bishop wrote on X. “These attacks also constitute a grave violation of the religious freedom consecrated in the Constitution of the United States, and, as such, they harm the rights of faithful U.S. Catholics.”

In a Monday interview with The Miami Herald, Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski said, “The pope doesn’t have to please anybody except the Lord,” adding that some people “will be upset” and others “will applaud what he says,” but that Pope Leo is not looking for reactions one way or another. “As religious leaders we should be political but not partisan,” Wenski said. “Politics is about how we organize society … and the church has something to say about that. What ways we can organize society that will increase human flourishing?”

The pope himself responded Monday while speaking to reporters in Nigeria, saying, “I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among states to find just solutions to problems,” he said. “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.”

Celia Almeida contributed to this story.