Opinion: The Real Holy War Is Waging Between Trump and the Pope

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For decades, conservative Catholics and the religious right have https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/04/29/francis-conservative-pope-sarah-burke/" rel="">prayed for a “red”-blooded American pope.

Someone who would place the Vatican’s authority behind their vision of American superiority and exceptionalism, all the while keeping his mouth shut about political issues like climate change and immigration.

Last year, it appeared they got their wish—or at least part of it—when Robert Francis Prevost, at the age of 69, and the son of a Chicago firefighter, became Pope Leo XIV. President Trump praised Prevost’s election as a “https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/08/trump-pope-prevost-leo.html#:~:text=%22I%20look%20forward%20to%20meeting%20Pope%20Leo,always%20had%20positive%20words%20for%20the%20U.S." rel="">very meaningful moment.”

That faith quickly waned.

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