The Wall Street Journal reports:

President Trump escalated his public feud with Pope Leo XIV, accusing the pontiff of endangering Catholics by opposing U.S. military action against Iran.

The president’s latest broadside against the pope could complicate Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Rome later this week, where he is due to meet with Pope Leo in a bid to reset U.S.-Vatican relations after months of growing tensions.

The Chicago-born pontiff has become one of the most outspoken critics of Trump’s growing use of military force, angering a president whose strong electoral support from Christians helped vault him back into the White House.

The unprecedented rift between the world’s two most prominent Americans has divided Catholic voters, threatening to cost the Republican Party some of its support from a key constituency in this year’s midterm elections.

“The Pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said in an interview with radio talk-show host Hugh Hewitt recorded on Monday. “I don’t think that’s very good,” he said, adding: “I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people.”

Leo, who has never said it would be acceptable for Iran to have a nuclear program, has repeatedly called for a world free of all nuclear weapons. The pope has firmly criticized the U.S.-led war on Iran, saying it “is not resolving anything,” and has called for negotiations. [Continue reading…]