President Trump won’t win his battle with Pope Leo

President Trump won’t win his battle with Pope Leo

April 16, 2026 · 59 min

About this episode

This episode features a discussion on President Trump's social media attack on Pope Leo XIV and its implications for U.S.-Vatican relations.

This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac speak with John Carr, founder of Georgetown University’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life. In “Signs of the Times,” a cross-promotion of America’s roundtable discussion between Ashley, Sam Sawyer, S.J., the president and editor in chief, and Colleen Dulle, Vatican correspondent and co-host of “Inside the Vatican,” on President Trump’s unprecedented social media attack on Pope Leo XIV. 00:00 President Trump's words for Pope Leo 1:55 Pope Leo's criticism of war 3:14 Pope Leo's response to Trump 5:26 U.S. Bishops respond to Trump 6:22 Reactions to Trump's tirade 8:03 Did Trump influence Leo's election? 11:00 Don't take the President's bait 14:40 Impact on U.S.-Vatican relations 19:10 John Carr wanted to be a priest and a senator 21:25 Catholic teaching on mass deportations 30:32 Catholic social teaching is a long, reliable tradition 37:05 Is social justice redeemable? 47:10 How money influences Catholic priorities 50:13 First impressions of Pope Leo Links for further reading: John Carr: Lessons from 50 years at the intersection of Catholic social teaching and public life Reactions: President Trump lashes out at Pope Leo…

More episodes of Jesuitical

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Jesuitical podcast page.