Bishop Strickland responds to Trump’s criticism of Pope Leo: ‘I stand with the Holy Father’

In remarks given to the BBC, the former bishop of Tyler, Texas, said he agreed with the Holy Father’s opposition to the Israeli and U.S.-led campaign against Iran because it does not constitute a just war.

“I do not believe this conflict meets the criteria of a just war. I stand with the Holy Father and his call for peace. This is not about politics. It’s about moral truth,” Strickland said. “It becomes very dark when religion is used to justify immoral behavior … using religion to justify especially dropping bombs is contradicting what the faith is about.”

“I pray that all of this will clarify for people that we don’t look to a national leader, we don’t look to those who have the most money or the most weapons. We look to Christ,” he added.

Strickland was then asked about Trump’s now-deleted AI image of himself looking like Jesus Christ. According to the BBC, Strickland “pointed to a passage” in the Gospel of Matthew that “teaches that supreme power resides with Christ and not with any man.” The BBC did not cite the exact passage, though Strickland is likely referring to Matthew 28:18, where Jesus says “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

“When world leaders forget this truth, all are in peril,” Strickland said.

Trump has not eased up on his criticism of Pope Leo since his initial Sunday night social media post. In that Truth Social statement, he claimed the Pope “thinks it’s ok for Iran to have a nuclear weapon” and accused him of “catering to the radical left” and being “weak on crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”

Pope Leo brushed off the criticism on Monday, saying he has “no fear of the Trump administration” and will continue to preach “the Gospel message” and “speak out strongly against war.”

Traditionalist Catholic commentators have agreed that the attacks on Iran do not constitute a just war, yet they also point out that Pope Leo is arguably departing from traditional Catholic teaching by suggesting that all wars and conflicts are inherently unjust.