Before becoming pontiff, Pope Leo XIV criticized Trump and Vance

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The X account of then-cardinal Robert Prevost contains posts hitting the policies of United States President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance

WASHINGTON, USA – The first US pope has some thoughts about the American president.

Pope Leo XIV, who was chosen on Thursday, May 8, has a history of criticizing President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s policies, according to posts on the X account of Robert Prevost, his name before he ascended to be head of the Catholic Church.

In February, he reposted an article with the following headline: “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”

In April, when Trump met with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele to discuss using a prison where alleged human rights abuses took place to jail suspected gang members flown from the United States, Prevost reposted a comment that included: “Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed?”

Reuters could not immediately verify who operated the account, which made its first post in 2011. Reuters reached out to the Vatican, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chiclayo in Peru, where Prevost was based for years, and the Peruvian embassy to the Holy See to confirm the authenticity of the account, which has the handle @drprevost and includes posts calling for prayers for the late Pope Francis in his final months.

Pope Leo is expected to follow in the footsteps of Francis, a champion of the poor and of immigrants, who also had his differences with the Trump administration. Vance, who met with Francis at the Vatican the day before he died, played down those differences after the meeting, but they were substantial. Francis had called Trump’s immigration policies a disgrace.

The US president congratulated the new Catholic leader.

“It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope,” Trump wrote on his social media platform. “What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”

Vance, a Catholic, said he was sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians would pray for Leo’s success.

“May God bless him!” Vance wrote on X.

White House officials did not offer further reaction and a spokeswoman for Vance pointed to his post on X when asked for comment about the criticisms on Prevost’s account.

The new pope shares some policy similarities with the Trump team. He opposes abortion, as do Trump and Vance. But he supports work to combat climate change, according to a post urging followers to sign a Catholic climate petition. Trump removed the United States from the Paris climate accord that fights global warming. – Rappler.com