Pope Leo XIV Humiliated: Fox News Host Questions If Pontiff Has 'Read The Bible' Amid Brutal Donald Trump Feud

The Vatican has been thrust into a vicious American media storm after Fox News host Sean Hannity and US President Donald Trump launched a coordinated assault on Pope Leo XIV.

In a move that has stunned religious observers, Hannity used his national platform, The Sean Hannity Show, to question whether the first North American Pontiff had 'even read the Bible.' This extraordinary challenge to the spiritual authority of the Catholic Church coincided with a series of outbursts from Trump, who branded the Pope 'weak' and 'radical left.'

The row was ignited by the Pope's recent declaration that God 'does not bless any conflict,' a statement widely interpreted as a critique of US-backed military actions.

By the time Pope Leo XIV and Trump's feud reached the Oval Office on Friday, the President had doubled down on his rhetoric, refusing to apologise for his 'weak on crime' labels. The situation marks the most significant breakdown in US-Vatican relations since the election of the current Pontiff in 2026.

Pope Leo on Friday said that God 'does not bless any conflict' and that 'anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs'. Those remarks were seen as a rebuke aimed at Trump and his administration amid tensions involving Iran.

Pope Leo XIV Comes Under Fire On Fox

Hannity's contribution was the most blunt. 'I hate the Pope,' he said, before ridiculing Leo's position on violence and asking, 'Have you even read the Bible?'

He went on to cite biblical warfare, invoking David and Goliath, King Saul and the history of Israel as proof, in his view, that conflict could not simply be waved away by appeals to peace.

It was a striking thing to say about the leader of the Catholic Church, not least because the attack was not really about theology.

Hannity's claim that the Pope is 'scripturally unserious' strikes at the heart of Catholic Church authority.

By recasting the Pope's plea for peace as a sign of ignorance rather than theology, the Fox News host has provided a scriptural shield for those supporting aggressive foreign policy. This Sean Hannity Fox News critique has resonated with a conservative base that increasingly views the Vatican's calls for de-escalation as political interference.

Donald Trump Deepens His Feud With The Pontiff

Trump's own intervention was no less combative. Writing on Truth Social, the US president called Pope Leo 'weak' and said the Pontiff should 'focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.' He later escalated the criticism, accusing Leo of being 'Weak on Crime, Weak on Nuclear Weapons' and telling him to 'stop catering to the Radical Left.'

That would already have marked a serious deterioration in relations between the White House and the Vatican. Yet Trump pushed further, saying the Pope should be 'thankful' to have become Pope last year and suggesting the first North American leader of the Catholic Church was chosen as someone who could 'deal with' him.

It was a boast dressed up as analysis, and a rather unsubtle one at that. Leo did not retreat. He responded by saying he would continue to 'stand up and say there's a better way' and that he was 'not afraid of the Trump administration.'

That matters because it shifts this beyond a passing insult or a hot afternoon on social media. The Pope, who leads an estimated 1.4 billion Catholics, was not backing away from the confrontation.

Both lines of criticism try to strip the Pope of authority, one by saying he should stay in his lane, the other by implying he does not understand his own book.

The First North American Pope Faces US Opposition

The elevation of Leo XIV as the first leader of the Church from North America was originally seen as a bridge between the Vatican and the West. However, the Vatican relations landscape in 2026 suggests the opposite has occurred. Instead of a unifying figure, the Pope has become a lightning rod for American culture wars.

The strategy employed by both Trump and Hannity is clear: strip the Pontiff of his moral standing by framing him as either a political operative or a scriptural novice. This papal peace rebuke has forced many American Catholics to choose between their political allegiances and their spiritual head. With the Pope refusing to retreat from his 'Prince of Peace' messaging, the divide between Washington and Rome appears wider than ever.

A Historic Low For US-Vatican Tensions

The current US-Vatican tensions reflect a broader shift in how modern leaders interact with religious institutions. When a Pope speaks in moral terms, and a President responds with poll-driven insults, the traditional boundaries of diplomacy vanish.

Leo XIV's insistence that he will continue to 'stand up' against the administration ensures that this row will not fade. As the Donald Trump Truth Social Pope attacks continue to circulate, the world is watching a high-stakes test of wills. The question is no longer just about the Bible or crime; it is about who holds the ultimate authority to define morality in a divided age.