Leo XIV has boldly exposed the US President’s “delusion of omnipotence”
“Vance’s incorrect advice would not have swayed the Pope, but the emailed bomb threat to his own brother, John Prevost, and other relatives living in suburban Chicago apparently did. If this threat was the handiwork of MAGA supporters, that alone says a lot about the path that politics is taking in a country that preaches democracy to other nations. The fact remains that the Pope, who had boldly mocked Trump’s “delusion”, did try to mitigate the impact of those remarks with his statements in some African countries that he visited recently.”
An overwhelming majority of Roman Catholics worldwide follow the teachings of the Pope. Since Catholicism has the largest following among those who profess Christianity, US President Donald Trump — the most powerful person in the world — cannot afford to ignore what the Pope says about his decisions and actions on the global stage.
When Trump disregarded the rules-based international order and sent his troops to kidnap Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January this year, Pope Leo XIV was stunned. He disapproved of Trump’s action but said nothing till the US President attacked Iran at the prodding of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost, was a native of Chicago till he chose to become a missionary and joined the Order of St Augustine in Peru, where he lived for over 20 years before moving to the Vatican to head the Dicastery of Bishops. In that role, he helped the Pope identify and appoint Bishops all over the world. He became the first American to occupy the throne of St Peter in May last year.
During the first nine months of his tenure, the Pope largely remained silent. He spoke up when the US-Iran war started wreaking havoc on innocent civilians, including children. Alluding to Trump, the Pope said he was a tyrant who had “delusion of omnipotence”.
The Pope’s emergence as a spiritual leader who spoke his mind triggered his spat with Trump. His apt assessment must have shaken the US President to the core.
In retaliation, Trump described Pope Leo XIV as an individual who “knew nothing of foreign policy” and was “weak on crime”. There is no doubt in the minds of people even in the US — except Trump’s core MAGA supporters, who are mostly white blue-collar workers belonging to the Evangelical Christian faith — that the President was morally wrong. Trump would have surely liked to have the Roman Catholics on his side, but the Pope’s timely tirade upset his calculations.
Vice President JD Vance, himself a Catholic, advised the Pope “to stick to matters of morality”, implying that Trump’s decisions and actions had not contravened the rules of morality!
Vance’s incorrect advice would not have swayed the Pope, but the emailed bomb threat to his own brother, John Prevost, and other relatives living in suburban Chicago apparently did. If this threat was the handiwork of MAGA supporters, that alone says a lot about the path that politics is taking in a country that preaches democracy to other nations. The fact remains that the Pope, who had boldly mocked Trump’s “delusion”, did try to mitigate the impact of those remarks with his statements in some African countries that he visited recently.
Many US citizens disapprove of the war started by Trump against the Iranian regime. It is well known that Netanyahu brought Trump on board in a bid to solve Israel’s perpetual problem with Iran, which is guided by religious prejudice against Judaism.
It is apparent that Trump has not studied Persian history. If he had, he would have learnt that the Parthian Emperors, followed by the Sassanian rulers, of ancient Persia resisted the Eastern Roman Empire that ruled from Constantinople (later renamed Istanbul by the Ottoman Turks). Even the Roman Empire could not subdue Persia. It was forced to exist as an equal power with the Sassanians, who followed the Zoroastrian religion till the Arabs invaded Persia and converted Persians to Islam.
My friend, Dr Farokh Udwadia, who was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1987, recently wrote a treatise on the Parthian and Sassanian empires. Persian Zoroastrians refused to convert and instead migrated to the west coast of India to form the now tiny but very influential Parsi community. I met Farokh for the first time at the Padma awards ceremony in 1987. He is not only a very distinguished doctor but also a dedicated researcher of Persian history. I am eternally indebted to Farokh for saving my wife Melba’s life when she was fighting for survival at Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital in 2002 (she passed away in 2022).
Reverting to the spat between the US President and the Pope, I can sense that my friends in Mumbai, both Catholic and non-Catholic, are squarely in agreement with Leo XIV. Along with the majority of Catholics in Mumbai, I certainly am one with the Pope.
Last week, he described those who waged wars and appropriated the earth’s resources as thieves who robbed the world of a peaceful future. He also urged the US and Iran to resume talks to end the war.
I felt sad when the Pope attempted to tone down his criticism. But on reflection, I realized that he cannot put his US-based relatives in mortal danger. Trump’s supporters intend to “Make America Great Again” by any means, fair or foul. It is something we in India also experience at the time of elections when winning is all-important, the means totally irrelevant. The definition of “morality” changes when politics and the quest for power take precedence.
(The author is a highly decorated retired Indian Police Service officer, and a former governor)
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