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House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday defended President Donald Trump’s repeated criticism of Pope Leo XIV amid the two leaders’ dispute over the U.S. war against Iran.
During a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol, Johnson said that a “pontiff or any religious leader can say anything they want, but obviously, if you wade into political waters, I think you should expect some political response.”
“And I think the pope’s received some of that,” Johnson added. “I was taken a little bit aback, just honestly, frankly by something that he said several days back.”
Johnson appeared to take issue with Pope Leo’s Palm Sunday homily, in which he declared that Jesus “rejects war” and cannot be invoked to justify it. In his Easter address, Leo, the first American pope, also declared that Jesus does not hear the prayers of those with blood on their hands.
Johnson pushed back, citing the “just war doctrine,” which provides an ethical framework for determining when conflict is justified.
“I don’t want to engage in a theological debate with the pope,” Johnson said. “I certainly respect the pope. I would just want to say that these are matters that people of good faith and good sense can debate and think through, and I think that’s what that reflects.”
Johnson’s remarks come as Trump has ramped up his attacks on Leo amid the ongoing war in Iran.
Trump lashed out at Pope Leo on Truth Social Sunday, calling him “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy” after the pope sharply criticized the U.S. war against Iran — triggering an outcry from religious leaders, MAGA supporters and Democrats alike.
Trump had also sparked fierce backlash among those same critics after posting an image on Easter Sunday depicting himself as Jesus. The president deleted the image Monday in response to the controversy, claiming he thought the image showed him as a “doctor.”
Vice President JD Vance, a practicing Catholic, dismissed the backlash in a Fox News interview Monday, defending Trump’s authority over foreign and immigration policy and suggesting the Vatican should “stick to matters of morality.”
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops backed Leo’s opposition to war with Iran on Wednesday, citing centuries-old church doctrine.
Bishop James Massa, the conference’s doctrine chairman, defended the pontiff’s position by invoking “just war theory,” which permits conflict only in self-defense against active aggressors.
“To be a just war it must be a defense against another who actively wages war,” Massa said. “Jesus does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.”
Leo on Thursday issued another statement amid heightened tensions with the Trump administration.
“Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” Leo said.
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Nick Moyle | NJ.com; nj.com; (TNS) | ©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit nj.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
