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  1. Trump criticized Pope Leo XIV as "weak on crime."
  2. Trump shared AI image depicting himself performing miracle.
  3. Pope Leo criticized Trump's "delusion of omnipotence."

Trump vs Pope Leo: US President Donald Trump has taken his criticism of the Catholic Church and the Holy See to another level. Shortly afer launching an all out criticism of Pope Leo XIV he posted an AI Generated picture depicting himeslf performing a miracle. The picture largely symbolises one of the miracles of Jesus desribed in the bible where he is said to have raised Lazarus from the dead.

The digitally created image shows Trump in flowing robes, placing his hand on a sick man. The scene is surrounded by patriotic and symbolic elements, including the American flag, military aircraft, and what appears to be angelic figures in the background.

The post comes shortly after Trump criticised Pope Leo XIV, calling him "weak on crime" and "terrible for foreign policy," and claiming that the pontiff's position was influenced by political considerations. Trump delivered an extraordinary broadside against Pope, saying he didn't think the US-born global leader of the Catholic Church is "doing a very good job" and that "he's a very liberal person," while also suggesting the pontiff should "stop catering to the Radical Left".

 Trump vs Pope Leo XIV

Flying back to Washington from Florida, Trump used a lengthy social media post to sharply criticise Leo, then kept it up after deplaning, in comments on the tarmac to reporters. "I'm not a fan of Pope Leo," he said.

ALSO READ: 'America Has Military Power To Do Whatever': Did US Threaten Pope Leo XIV For Criticising Trump?

Trump's comments came after Leo suggested over the weekend that a "delusion of omnipotence" is fuelling the US-Israel war in Iran. While it's not unusual for popes and presidents to be at cross purposes, it's exceedingly rare for the pope to directly criticise a US leader - and Trump's stinging response is equally uncommon, if not more so.

"Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," the president wrote in his post, adding, "I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon."

He repeated that sentiment in comments to reporters, saying, "We don't like a pope who says it's OK to have a nuclear weapon."

Why is Trump criticising Pope Leo?

All of that came after Leo presided over an evening prayer service in St Peter's Basilica on Saturday, the same day the United States and Iran began face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan during a fragile ceasefire. The pope didn't mention the United States or Trump by name, but his tone and message appeared directed at Trump and US officials, who have boasted of US military superiority and justified the war in religious terms.

Leo - who is scheduled to leave Monday for an 11-day trip to Africa - has previously said that God "does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them". He's also referenced an Old Testament passage from Isaiah, saying that "even though you make many prayers, I will not listen - your hands are full of blood."

Before the ceasefire, when Trump warned of mass strikes against Iranian power plants and other infrastructure and that "an entire civilisation will die tonight," Leo described such sentiments as "truly unacceptable". In his social media post on Sunday night, however, Trump went far beyond the war in Iran in criticising Leo.

ALSO READ: 'No Room For Poor Is No Room For God': Pope Leo's Powerful Christmas Warning To World | WATCH

Catholic voters' support for Trump

In the 2024 election, Trump won 55 per cent of Catholic voters, according to AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of the electorate. But Trump's administration also has close ties to conservative evangelical Protestant leaders and has claimed heavenly endorsement for the war on Iran.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Americans to pray for victory "in the name of Jesus Christ." And, when Trump was asked whether he thought God approved of the war, he said, "I do, because God is good - because God is good and God wants to see people taken care of."

(With inputs from agencies)

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