A pope, his bishops, and a rift with Trump

For decades, it was a political truism: Many conservative Christians in the United States sided with the Republicans.

On social issues in particular, such as abortion, marriage and sexual morality, Republican positions often aligned with the convictions of conservative Christians.

White evangelicals, above all, became a mainstay of the Republican electorate. The party has also gained considerable support among white Catholics in recent years.

But since Donald Trump returned to the presidency and Leo XIV became pope, this political alliance has come under increasing pressure.

The Pope and the President Are Not Friends

The pope and the president are not friends. This became clear shortly after Leo took office in May 2025. The pope repeatedly criticized the U.S. administration’s immigration policy.

He was particularly outspoken in April 2026 in response to the war with Iran. When Donald Trump threatened to destroy an entire civilization, Leo described the threat as “truly unacceptable.”

The remark, made April 7, 2026, came after Trump posted on social media that “a whole civilization” would be destroyed if Iran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz or reach a deal, as reported by the Associated Press.

He even explicitly called on citizens of the countries involved to contact their political representatives and advocate for peace. Trump responded with personal attacks on the pope, describing him, among other things, as “weak on foreign policy.”

This is essentially nothing new. Pope Francis had repeatedly criticized policies that “build walls instead of bridges.” He opposed isolationism and inhumane immigration policies.

However, the clarity with which Leo challenges his own country’s president is remarkable.

After all, he is not only the head of the universal Church but also a U.S. citizen — born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago in 1955, he became the first American-born pope in history when elected in May 2025. He knows his home country’s political culture from personal experience.

Political participation as a democratic civic duty

It was therefore only a partial surprise that the pope cast his vote in the midterm elections on Nov. 3. He voted by mail in Chicago.

This is an absolute first in the history of the papacy: Never before has an incumbent pope been documented as having participated in an election in his home country.

Voting records show Leo had previously voted in Illinois Democratic primaries in 2008 and 2010 and in Republican primaries in 2012, 2014 and 2016 — before his election as pope — as reported by CBS News.

The Vatican confirmed the development on Oct. 30 and emphasized that Leo considers participation in democratic processes a right and duty of citizens. Naturally, how he voted remains confidential.

Speculating about it would be tempting in light of his criticism of Trump, but it would be irresponsible.

What matters is the signal: The pope regards political participation as a democratic civic duty and exercises that right himself.

Criticism of the administration grows among US bishops

But the pope is not the only one distancing himself from the Republicans’ political course. Criticism of the administration is also growing among bishops in the United States.

For a long time, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) — the national assembly of Catholic bishops that coordinates the Church’s pastoral and policy positions across the country — was an important ally of the Republicans, particularly on social issues.

The most prominent example is the dispute over the protection of human life. Under President Joe Biden, himself a Catholic, the bishops engaged in intense debate in 2021 over how to deal with politicians who supported abortion rights despite their Church affiliation.

Some bishops even called for Biden to be denied Communion. Ultimately, the bishops’ conference adopted a general document on the Eucharist without personally excluding the president.

Under Donald Trump, the lines of conflict are now shifting. Above all, immigration policy has brought the bishops into opposition to the White House.

In November 2025, the U.S. bishops’ conference adopted a so-called special message on immigration policy.

What made this noteworthy was that no such statement had been issued in 12 years — the last “special message,” a rare procedural category requiring a two-thirds vote of bishops present, addressed a federal contraception mandate in 2013, as reported by the Catholic Review.

With 216 votes in favor and only five against — plus three abstentions, as reported by America Magazine — the bishops condemned the disparagement of migrants, expressed concern about fear in local communities and criticized conditions in immigration detention facilities.

The statement was particularly clear in one sentence: The bishops opposed the indiscriminate mass deportation of people. The White House’s “border czar,” Tom Homan, publicly called the bishops “wrong” in response, as reported by OSV News.

Nor did the criticism end with a single statement in 2026. Several bishops from border states called for concrete changes to deportation measures and urged that the right to asylum be upheld.

The Church is not fundamentally opposed to state border controls. However, it objects to a policy that subordinates human dignity and due process to the political goal of carrying out deportations on the broadest possible scale.

Prayer with President Trump as a publicity stunt?

How difficult relations between the Church and the administration have become was also evident in a meeting at the White House shortly before the midterms.

Twelve Catholic bishops met with Donald Trump on Oct. 22. The gathering was organized by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, as reported by the National Catholic Reporter.

In the Oval Office, they prayed together with the president. The White House’s official communications team subsequently distributed photos and videos of the event.

What was surprising, however, was not so much the meeting itself as the reaction to it. Several participants distanced themselves from the publication afterward.

Archbishop Jeffrey Grob of Milwaukee publicly apologized and said he was saddened that something as sacred as praying together had been politically instrumentalized.

In his published apology, Grob added: “We should never have been put in that position by the White House. I did not go without reservations. I wish I had heeded them,” according to the National Catholic Reporter.

Bishop William Joensen of Des Moines also criticized the meeting for being exploited for partisan purposes.

According to the bishops, they had expected a discussion of issues such as immigration, religious freedom and abortion. They had not intended to participate in a public event staged with the president.

A White House spokesperson rejected the bishops’ framing, saying “no president in history has done more for American Catholics than President Trump,” according to the Western Journal.

Bishops criticizing a Republican president would also have been difficult to imagine just a few years ago.

At the very least, the incident shows that the Catholic Church no longer automatically sees itself as part of a political alliance with Trump. Engaging in dialogue with the government is part of the Church’s mission. Allowing itself to be co-opted for political purposes is not.

Defeat for Trump

And then came the midterms. Donald Trump has to contend with a major defeat. The Democrats won majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. For the president, this means a substantial loss of power.

The reasons are varied: the economic situation, the high cost of living, the war with Iran, now in its eighth month, and dissatisfaction with government policy. Support from religious voters can no longer be taken for granted, either.

A pope who publicly criticizes his president and casts his own vote. A bishops’ conference that opposes the president’s deportation policies. And bishops who apologize for the political exploitation of a prayer service at the White House. All of these developments would have been unthinkable for a long time.

Donald Trump may therefore be losing some of the religious backing on which he was able to rely for so long. The Catholic Church is reminding him that Christian values do not end at a party line.

This is a translated and edited version of the column that first appeared on Domradio.de and has been republished with permission.