(RNS) — Last week, Vatican Media published an article by editorial director Andrea Tornielli that began, “Even when he speaks about war and peace, migration or how to remain human in the age of artificial intelligence, the Successor of Peter remains, above all, a spiritual leader.”
You might be tempted to say, “Well, duh.” But not, it seems, if you happen to be Donald Trump’s ambassador to the Vatican, Brian Burch.
In an interview with The New York Times earlier this month, Burch sought to minimize Pope Leo’s criticism of the U.S. war with Iran by claiming that the pontiff was speaking not as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church or the Vicar of Christ but as just another secular head of state. “When the pope acts as the sovereign leader of the Holy See, he is coequal with world leaders,” he said.
To which Tornielli responded by quoting from Pope Paul VI’s 1965 speech to the U.N. General Assembly, in which the pontiff described himself as “your brother, and even one of the least among you who represent sovereign States, since he possesses—if you choose to consider us from this point of view—only a tiny and practically symbolic temporal sovereignty: the minimum needed in order to be free to exercise his spiritual mission and to assure those who deal with him that he is independent of any sovereignty of this world.”
In other words, Tornielli said, “Mr. Ambassador, don’t be ridiculous.”
The problem is not just that, as Burch allowed, “when the Holy Father speaks, people pay attention.” Pope Leo is someone who can’t be pushed around.
Case in point: how he handled the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), the schismatic sect that embraces the Latin Mass and rejects the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. When it ignored his pleas and went ahead with the consecration of four new bishops on July 1, the Vatican not only immediately declared the newly consecrated and officiating bishops excommunicated but also pronounced excommunication on all clergy and laity who continue to adhere to the Society.
This represents a sharp departure from how the SSPX has been dealt with by previous popes, including Pope Francis, who offered the group concessions. It is fair to say that Leo’s lesson has not been lost on other Catholic traditionalists, including members of the hierarchy, who enjoyed a notably free hand in criticizing Pope Francis. Any criticism they might have of the treatment of SSPX has been on the down-low.
Likewise, if Trump and his allies think they can get Leo to back down from his positions on war and peace, migration and AI, they should think again. Nor would it seem to be in their interest to keep up the attacks.
According to a Pew survey last month, 51% of American Catholics think Trump has been too critical of Leo, while 18% think he has not been critical enough or has struck the right balance. Inversely, just 19% of them think Leo has been too critical of Trump, while 51% think he has not been critical enough or has struck the right balance. Overall, 78% view Leo favorably — 30 points higher than their approval of Trump.
Could things be going better between pope and president? Let us note that Trump did congratulate the first American pope on his election last year and said he was looking forward to meeting him. But unlike many other heads of state, he has not managed to do so yet. Nor, it seems, has he communicated directly with Leo, whether by phone or text or otherwise.
Maybe the guy who wouldn’t leave the field to the victorious Spanish soccer team resents the fact that, by becoming pope, Robert Francis Prevost relegated him from the best-known American in the world to second best. No wonder he’s “not a fan”!
