Palm Beach Bishop Slams Trump’s ‘Violent Attacks’ Against Pope Leo in Message to Sunday Mass Attendees

(Photo by Eric Vandeville/Abaca/Sipa USA) (Sipa via AP Images)

A Catholic bishop who runs the Diocese of Palm Beach in Florida, which encompasses President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, issued a public rebuke of the president’s ongoing feud with Pope Leo XIV on Sunday.

Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez, recently appointed to lead the diocese, delivered the criticism during Sunday Mass by displaying a statement onto a giant screen during the service.

“The Diocese of Palm Beach stands firm with our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, and strongly rejects the disrespectful and violent attacks that Donald J. Trump has directed against the Holy Father,” it read, according to an image shared online.

It continued: “These attacks also constitute a grave violation of the religious freedom enshrined in the Constitution of the United States and, as such, harm the rights of the American Catholic faithful.”

Rodríguez concluded the message with a call to the congregation: “Please pray for the safety of the Holy Father.”

Trump’s clash with Pope Leo intensified last week when the president launched a series of attacks on Truth Social, calling the pontiff “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” while also claiming credit for his election.

The remarks followed the pope’s calls for peace after the U.S. military action against Iran.

Responding to the president’s jabs, Pope Leo told reporters he has “no fear” of the Trump administration before issuing further statements criticizing the use of religious rhetoric in promoting or justifying war.

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