Though it wasn't as widely reported, US President Donald Trump made another comment about Pope Leo on Monday, in an interview on the Hugh Hewitt show. Hewitt spoke about Jimmy Lai, a Catholic pro-democracy leader in Hong Kong who was sentenced by China to 20 years in prison.
"I want the Pope to talk about Jimmy Lai, and I want you to bring him home. That would be a good deal," Hewitt told Trump.
The president responded:
Well, the Pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, and I don’t think that’s very good. I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people. But I guess if it’s up to the Pope, he thinks it’s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.
As he left Castel Gandolfo this May 5, Pope Leo was asked about the new comments, the latest in the president's remarks on the pontiff.
He answered in Italian, saying that "the mission of the Church is to proclaim the Gospel, to preach peace.”
“If someone wants to criticize me for proclaiming the Gospel, let him do so truthfully," he said.
In fact, Pope Leo and his predecessors have spoken out firmly on nuclear weapons. For example, in June, speaking about the situation in Iran and Israel, he said, "The commitment to creating a safer world, free from the nuclear threat, should be pursued through respectful encounter and sincere dialogue, to build a lasting peace, based on justice, fraternity and the common good."
Pope Francis spoke about the nuclear threat many times.
In 2019 in an in-flight press conference after his visit to Japan, Pope Francis said that even the possession of nuclear weapons is immoral:
And there [in Hiroshima] I reaffirmed that the use of nuclear weapons is immoral —this must also be included in the Catechism of the Catholic Church —, and not only its use, but also its possession because an accident [due to] possession, or the madness of some government leader, a person’s madness can destroy humanity. Let us think about that quote from Einstein: “World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones”.
Rubio meeting
This evening, Pope Leo recalled this consistent message.
“For years, the Church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt on that point," the Pope said.
Noting that his first words as pope on May 8 -- now we are close to the anniversary -- were "peace be with all of you," he added, "I simply hope to be listened to because of the value of the word of God."
The Pope is set to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on May 7, and he said he hoped that it will be “a good dialogue,” so as “to understand one another well.”
Nuclear arms and just war
A reporter from EWTN then asked the Pope about a quote from Isaiah that he used in his Palm Sunday homily: "He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: 'Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood' (Is 1:15)."
The reporter asked if this applied to self-defense.
The Holy Father explained that the Church's tradition has always allowed self-defense. But, he continued, "To talk about just war today, itʼs a very complex problem. You have to analyze it on many levels, but ever since the entrance into the nuclear age, the whole concept of war has to be reevaluated with terms today."
“I always believe that itʼs much better to enter into dialogue than to look for arms and to support the arms industry," he added.
