Pope Says ‘World Is Being Ravaged by a Handful of Tyrants’ as Feud with Trump’s White House Intensifies

Pontiff denounces leaders who invoke religion to justify war, after U.S. bishops rally to his defense following Vance’s remarks.

YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon – Pope Leo XIV declared on Thursday that the world is being “ravaged by a handful of tyrants” who channel billions into warfare, a sharp escalation in his nearly week-long confrontation with the Trump administration over the U.S.-led war in Iran.

While the first American-born pontiff did not mention President Donald Trump by name, his speech in Cameroon’s western city of Bamenda took aim at world leaders who manipulate faith to sanction violence against other nations. The address came just hours after the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued an unusually forceful statement backing the pope, who has faced days of criticism from the White House.

“Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” Leo told a congregation at Saint Joseph Cathedral. “They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education, and restoration are nowhere to be found. The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants, yet it is held together by a multitude of supportive brothers and sisters.”

The pope, who is on an 11-day tour of Africa, did not directly address the Trump administration’s claims that the Iran war is a preemptive act of self-defense. Instead, he framed his remarks within the Catholic Church’s longstanding just-war tradition, arguing that no nation can claim divine blessing for offensive military action.

Bishops Push Back Against Vance

The transatlantic rift widened earlier this week when Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, publicly chastised the pope for speaking out against the war, effectively urging him to “stick to matters of morality” and leave geopolitics to elected officials.

“When the pope says that God is never on the side of people who wield the sword, there is more than a 1,000-year tradition of just war theory,” Vance told a Turning Point USA event at the University of Georgia on Tuesday. He suggested Leo’s pacifism ignored the moral necessity of defending innocent lives.

But the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops pushed back sharply on Wednesday, accusing Vance of misrepresenting the pope’s position. “For over a thousand years, the Catholic Church has taught just war theory, and it is that long tradition the Holy Father carefully references in his comments on war,” said a statement attributed to Bishop James Massa, chair of the conference’s committee on doctrine.

“A constant tenet of that thousand-year tradition is that a nation can only legitimately take up the sword ‘in self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed,’” Massa added. “That is, to be a just war, it must be a defense against another who actively wages war  which is exactly what the Holy Father said. When Pope Leo XIV speaks as supreme pastor of the universal Church, he is not merely offering opinions on theology; he is preaching the Gospel and exercising his ministry as the Vicar of Christ.”

Pope: ‘I Do Not Fear Trump’

Speaking to reporters aboard the papal plane en route to Algeria earlier this week, Leo struck a measured but firm tone. “I do not see my role as that of a politician. I am not a politician, and I do not want to enter a debate with him,” he said. “I continue to speak strongly against war, seeking to promote peace, dialogue, and multilateralism among states to find solutions to problems. I do not fear Mr. Trump.”

The pope’s comments have resonated beyond Catholic circles, drawing rare praise from some evangelical and mainline Protestant leaders who have grown uneasy with the Trump administration’s embrace of religious rhetoric in support of military action.

Trump’s Social Media and a Mysterious Deleted Image

On Wednesday, Trump posted an image on his Truth Social platform depicting himself embraced by Jesus, with the U.S. flag as a backdrop. The post came days after a backlash from supporters — including many on the religious right — forced him to delete an AI-generated image that portrayed the robed president as a Christ-like healer of the sick. Critics called the earlier image blasphemous, though Trump’s allies dismissed the controversy as media overreach.

Retaliation Claims Over Miami Catholic Charity

In a separate development, the Miami Herald reported Wednesday that the Trump administration appeared to be retaliating against the church by ending federal funding for a Catholic Charities program in Miami that shelters unaccompanied immigrant children.

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami said the White House had abruptly pulled an $11 million contract from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) — a longstanding agreement that provided specialized services for undocumented minors detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“The U.S. government has abruptly decided to end more than 60 years of relationship, and our services will be forced to shut down within three months,” Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami said in a statement. “Our services for unaccompanied minors have been recognized for their excellence and have served as a model for other agencies throughout the country. Our track record in serving this vulnerable population is unmatched.”

Emily Hilliard, a spokesperson for the federal Department of Health and Human Services, told the Herald that the average daily population of unaccompanied migrant children in federal care during Trump’s second term is about 1,900  “significantly lower” than under the Biden administration. “ORR is closing and consolidating unused facilities as the Trump administration continues efforts to stop illegal entry and the smuggling and trafficking of unaccompanied alien children,” Hilliard said, without specifically mentioning the Miami program.

Archbishop Wenski acknowledged that some initiatives would inevitably scale back as migration declines, but added, “It is baffling that the government would shut down a program that it would be hard-pressed to replicate at the level of competence” the church has achieved.

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