Has Trump’s feud with Pope Leo crossed a line with Catholics? | Global News Podcast

There is continuing criticism from Catholics around the world, as US President Donald Trump’s feud with Pope Leo escalates. Trump said Pope Leo XIV was “weak”, and posted an AI-generated image of himself on Truth Social, which many people believe depicted him as Jesus.

The image, which has now been deleted, showed Trump appearing to heal a sick man in a hospital bed. He said it showed him as a doctor. The image post came hours after the president posted a lengthy message criticising the pontiff, who is a vocal critic of the US and Israeli military operation in Iran.

Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has said Donald Trump’s remarks are ”unacceptable”. Meloni, who is Catholic and heads a right-wing coalition government, is a close ally of Trump.

Pope Leo said that he has “no fear” of the Trump administration. There are more than 70 million Catholics in the US – many of whom are swing voters. We ask the BBC’s religion editor, Aleem Maqbool, if Donald Trump’s row with the pope has dealt lasting damage to his Catholic support.

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