Could Pope Leo XIV Run For US President In 2028? Eligibility Explained

Theories ran wild recently after most got word that Pope Leo XIV was meeting with Democratic strategist and former Barack Obama senior adviser David Axelrod. Details of that closed-door meeting were not divulged but many have come up with their own takes.

Factoring in the exchange between Pope Leo and US President Donald Trump concerning the Middle East conflict, some brought up an outlandish idea of the former possibly running for United States President in 2028.

There were several comments on the X post put up by Democratic activist Christopher Hale.

One of the replies to that post saw one saying: 'He's running.' Then another said: 'Ok now this is going to be a banger campaign trail secret path.'

Another commenter hoped that Axelrod would persuade Pope Leo to seriously consider the US presidency, pointing out his qualifications.

'Let's hope Axelrod is trying to persuade the Pope to run for President. He's an American, a registered voter in Illinois, of age, and he'd probably poll off the charts,' the X user suggested.

Understandably, these are people who are either unhappy with Trump's actions or were just responding in fun. But in reality, is Pope Leo, who is from Chicago, truly eligible to run for the US Presidency?

Canon Law Forbids Clergy To Run For Public Office

Realistically, Pope Leo cannot run for public office because of Canon Law. As explained by Hale, this law forbids the clergy, in this case the Pope, from holding public office because he is a foreign head of state and there is a conflict of dual loyalty, via USA Today.

'The pope is not going to run for president. He's legally able to, but he's not going to,' said Hale. 'He's also still a registered voter who voted absentee in the 2024 general election. We just don't know who he voted for.'

Moreover, the ordained which includes priests, bishops, cardinals and popes are discouraged from seeking public office. According to Father Francis X. Clooney, the best they can do is to speak out but nothing more.

'The idea that clerics, people who are ordained, priests, bishops, cardinals, and popes, are pretty much told to stay out of politics,' the Harvard Divinity School professor explained. 'But, if there are issues for the good of the community, a priest or bishop can speak out, but it's not likely they would run for any public office.'

Pope Leo Complying by Speaking Out

Hence, Pope Leo is doing just that. He has voiced his concerns on the war against Iran and was apparently aiming them at someone specific. This was contained in his Palm Sunday message, particularly the part that said: 'He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.'

Aside from that, the Pope also branded Trump's controversial apocalyptic threats against Iran as unacceptable.

'Today, as we all know, there has also been this threat against the entire people of Iran and this is truly unacceptable. There are certainly issues of international law here. But even more so, a moral issue for the good of the entire population,' Pope Leo said on 7 April.

He continued by saying: 'I would invite citizens of all the countries involved to contact the authorities, political leaders, congressmen, to ask them to work for peace and to reject war always.'

With the initial round of peace talks falling apart, Pakistan is pushing for a new round of talks as tensions start to build once more. This was after a standoff between the US and Iran intensified on Tuesday, 14 April after the Americans had blockaded Iran's ports, the Associated Press reported.