Pope Leo takes aim at MAGA's false gospel

Pope Leo takes aim at MAGA’s false gospel
The American Pope is confirming MAGA's worst fears

By Sophia Tesfaye
Senior Writer
Published October 12, 2025 9:00AM (EDT)


(Salon) Even though Pope Leo XIV, the first-ever U.S.-born pontiff, was labeled the “woke pope” soon after he was chosen in May by cardinals to succeed the late Pope Francis, conservatives in the U.S. reportedly held out hope the new pope would abandon the progressivism of his outspoken predecessor. Now, five months into his tenure, the Chicago-born leader of the Catholic Church has angered MAGA-aligned conservatives on multiple fronts, including escalating his pointed criticisms of the Trump administration as it ramps up deportation operations.

“The fact that I am American means, among other things, people can’t say, like they did about Francis, ‘he doesn’t understand the United States, he just doesn’t see what’s going on,’” Leo said in a recent interview. Born Robert Francis Prevost on Chicago’s South Side, the pope reportedly voted in several Republican primaries. But an X account under his name, with tweets going as far back as 2015, previously shared links criticizing Trump’s approach to immigration and hinting at other political views, such as stricter gun control laws. “Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed?” he apparently posted in 2024, criticizing Trump’s meeting with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele about deportation collaboration. In recent weeks, Leo has started to aim his criticisms directly at Trump’s regime, like the more aggressive posture sought by Secretary Pete Hegseth. “This wording, like going from minister of defense to minister of war — let’s hope it’s just a figure of speech,” he recently said in Italian.

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He got more specific in his Oct. 5 homily during the Holy Mass for the Jubilee of the Missions and of Migrants. Leo told a crowd of more than 10,000 people gathered in front of St. Peter’s Basilica that “in the communities of ancient Christian tradition, such as those of the West, the presence of many brothers and sisters from the world’s South should be welcomed as an opportunity, through an exchange that renews the face of the Church and sustains a Christianity that is more open, more alive and more dynamic.” He followed the sermon with a post on X that same day: “No one should be forced to flee, nor exploited or mistreated because of their situation as foreigners or people in need! Human dignity must always come first!”

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In an “Apostolic Exhortation” titled “Dilexi te” — which translates to “I have loved you” — the 40-page text, the pope said, was first started by Francis, but is ultimately his work. With its focus on what he labeled a “dictatorship” of wealth inequality, the document was seen by some on the right as confirmation of Leo’s condemnation of American conservatism.

“God has a special place in his heart for those who are discriminated against and oppressed, and he asks us, his church, to make a decisive and radical choice in favor of the weakest,” Leo wrote. “Thus, in a world where the poor are increasingly numerous, we paradoxically see the growth of a wealthy elite, living in a bubble of comfort and luxury, almost in another world compared to ordinary people.” ..................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/10/12/pope-leo-takes-aim-at-magas-false-gospel/