By the time this column is in print, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will have travelled to the Vatican and conferred with Pope Leo XIV. It’s no secret that Leo is at odds with President Donald Trump over the latter’s war in Iran. Rubio’s obvious mission is to smooth things over between the pontiff and the president.
Rubio, himself a Catholic, is well-suited as an emissary to the Vatican. A Cuban American, whom Trump used to call “Little Mario”, Secretary Rubio is sensitive to the anxieties of Catholics in the United States and worldwide. But Rubio would better serve his president (and his country) were he to counsel the president on the human and political consequences of the war in Iran.
John O’Neill
Trump garnered 56 percent of the Catholic vote in the 2024 election. But polls show his approval rating among Catholics having fallen well below 50 percent since the start of the war. And disenchantment with the war has played no small role in the drop in support Trump once enjoyed with Catholics. While the president was at odds with Rome (under both Popes Francis and Leo) over immigration, this issue didn’t motivate Catholic opposition in the way the war has ignited Catholic opposition.
During a radio interview with host Hugh Hewitt last Monday, the president stated “The pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.” In reality, the pope has said no such thing. And it’s doubtful Trump believes it’s a “fact that it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.” Typical of Trump, his syntax is a bit off. He really meant to say that Pope Leo believes it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, not that it’s a fact that it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.
The president went on in the interview to say the pope “is endangering a lot of Catholics.” It’s hard to see how the pope’s opposition to war endangers Catholics. What is really at work is that President Trump is alienating Catholics. According to YouGov, 42 percent of U.S. Catholics disagree with the president on the war while only 31 percent are in agreement. To be sure, the poll indicates a sizable number undecided. But it’s still a huge drop from the 56 percent of the Catholic vote Trump took in 2024.
No doubt, the specter of abortion still looms large over the Catholic vote. And a handful of right-wing clergy will continue to advocate denying Democrats the sacraments over their support for abortion rights. But for too long the Catholic electorate has been viewed as a one-issue political entity. Of course, there’s a strong argument for the right to life. But this principle is as applicable in matters of war and peace as it is concerning the tragedy of abortion.
Catholic teaching also demands compassion for the sick and the poor, a position hard to reconcile with Trump’s cuts to cancer research and his priority for wealth in the hands of the few. Just as the Catholic electorate is not a one-issue constituent, it’s also not a two-issue constituent. On a whole range of issues, Republicans under Trump face a Catholic backlash.
Which brings us back to the war in Iran, the most compelling factor playing on the relationship between Trump and Catholic voters. Truth be told, Pope Leo has been the more passive debater, as Trump nurtures deliberate spats with the Vatican. Whereas Trump complains about the pope, Leo preaches the Gospels.
But Trump had best heed this caveat: Leo may yet adopt a more active role in debates with the president. Should President Trump force Catholics to choose between him and Pope Leo XIV, the former will regret having instigated a confrontation between the White House and the Vatican.
John O’Neill is an Allen Park free-lance writer and a graduate of Wayne State University. He attends St. Mary Magdalen in Melvindale.