Charlotte Catholic bishop reacts to Trump’s criticism of pope’s call for peace
Charlotte’s Catholic bishop expressed support for Pope Leo XIV after President Donald Trump targeted the church’s leader in a lengthy social media post.
Trump took to his Truth Social platform late Sunday to call the first American-born pope, who’d previously criticized the administration’s war in Iran, “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy.”
“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,” Trump wrote, adding accusations that the pope is “catering to the radical left” and that he should “focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.”
The pope said in response he wasn’t afraid of the Trump administration.
“To put my message on the same plane as what the president has attempted to do here, I think is not understanding what the message of the Gospel is,” he told the Associated Press. “And I’m sorry to hear that but I will continue on what I believe is the mission of the church in the world today.”
Asked for his reaction to Trump’s comments, Bishop Michael Martin told The Charlotte Observer in a statement he is “grateful for Pope Leo XIV’s ongoing proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which consistently calls down ‘Peace’ upon all of us, especially in this Easter season.”
“The Holy Father knows that when God is our central focus, all things are possible, even between national leaders who are in conflict,” said Martin, who presides over Catholic churches in Charlotte and Western North Carolina.
Trump drew more condemnation from many in the Christian community Monday over a separate Truth Social post that included an AI-generated image of him as a Jesus-like figure. The president told reporters he shared the since-deleted post because he “thought it was me as a doctor, and had to do with Red Cross.”
Martin, whose been in his position for about two years, has spoken out on political issues before.
He told the Observer in a wide-ranging February interview when asked about Border Patrol’s operation in Charlotte that “the church has to be a voice that proclaims the dignity of every human person.”
