American-Born Pope Seen Avoiding Clash With Trump...Some Say He Is Waging a Proxy War Through Bishops

Pope Avoids Direct References to Iran, Greenland, and ICE
In Contrast to His Early Confrontation with the Trump Administration
"Though Opposed to Trumpism, He Is Taking a Cautious Approach"

Analysts say that Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pope elected last May, has chosen a cautious and indirect diplomatic course rather than confronting the Donald Trump administration head-on.

Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pope in history, has chosen a cautious and indirect diplomatic course rather than directly clashing with the Donald Trump administration, analysts said. EPA Yonhap News

Quoting Agence France-Presse (AFP), Yonhap News reported on the 2nd (local time) that "early in his papacy, the pope criticized the Trump administration's anti-immigration policies as inhumane and called for a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Venezuela, setting himself at odds with Trump-style 'gunboat diplomacy'," but added that "in recent months, many observers say the tone of the pope's response has changed noticeably."

Recently, the pope has avoided making direct comments on issues such as the possibility of U.S. military intervention in Iran, the attempt to purchase Greenland from Denmark, and the "Minneapolis incident," in which two Americans were killed by gunfire from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. His only remark on the recent escalation of tensions between the United States and Cuba, made on the 1st, was that "violence must be avoided." The pope is also taking a cautious stance on President Trump's request that he join a "peace commission" for the Gaza Strip, merely stating that the proposal is "under review."

AFP assessed that this is "because he is concerned about the damage that could be inflicted on the U.S. Catholic Church amid extreme political polarization." The idea is that he is trying not to widen the already existing rifts within the American Catholic Church and to prevent his words from being interpreted as reflecting the views of a particular political camp. A Vatican source who requested anonymity told AFP, "The pope is well aware that his voice has a global impact," adding, "As an American, he stands on the opposite side of Trumpism, but on matters concerning the United States he is currently walking on thin ice."

The source went on to say that "the pope is acutely aware that the sharp edge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is aimed at immigrants and Hispanic communities protected by the American Church," suggesting that the pope's stance is intended to protect the faithful.

Trump Donald, President of the United States. Associated Press and Yonhap News Agency

However, there is an assessment that the pope is waging a proxy battle by putting local U.S. bishops at the forefront. Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), criticized the Minneapolis incident last month as "a failure of our society to respect the dignity of human life." In addition, Bishop Anthony Taylor of the Diocese of Little Rock in Arkansas likened the current situation in the United States to Nazi Germany, warning that "if we do not remember and learn from the failures of the past, we will inevitably repeat the same mistakes."

Furthermore, three cardinals who lead the Archdioceses of Chicago, Washington, and Newark issued a joint statement criticizing the United States' interventionist tendencies and its undermining of multilateralism. The view is that this statement was released with the pope's tacit approval.

Italian historian Massimo Fagioli said, "The pope's goal is to ensure that in 5, 10, or 20 years' time, historians do not write that 'the American Catholic Church colluded with Trumpism,'" describing it as "an effort to prevent the collapse of the American Church's reputation and its historical role."

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