Chicago Catholics rally behind Pope Leo amid Trump feud over deportations, war claims

At Holy Name Cathedral, the argument was not abstract. Chicago Catholics were weighing loyalty to Donald Trump against loyalty to Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV after the president attacked the pontiff over immigration and Iran, and after an AI-generated image of Trump appearing as Jesus drew outrage from parishioners.

The feud sharpened after Leo, the first American pope in history, criticized the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts and then urged restraint after the U.S.-Israel military operation against Iran began on Feb. 28, 2026. Leo said the treatment of immigrants was “extremely disrespectful” and later called on the combatants to “stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss.” Trump answered on Truth Social on April 12 by calling Leo “WEAK on Crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy,” then said he was “not a fan of Pope Leo” and suggested the Vatican chose an American pope to deal with him.

For Catholics in Chicago, the exchange landed with unusual force because the pope is one of their own. Outside Holy Name Cathedral, parishioners reacted sharply to Trump’s attacks and to the deleted AI image, which some called blasphemous. Others said they stood with Leo as he pressed the Gospel’s call for peace and defended migrants. Father John Lydon, a former colleague of Leo, said the pope would not back down from those principles, and Cardinal Blase Cupich joined other church leaders in saying the war did not meet the Catholic just-war standard.

The political stakes are substantial. The Catholic Church has about 1.4 billion members worldwide, and Catholics remain a pivotal bloc in U.S. elections. ABC News reported that 59% of Catholics voted for Trump in 2024, up from 47% in 2020, while 39% backed Kamala Harris. But a CNN poll fielded March 26-30 found 42% of Catholic adults approved of Trump and 57% disapproved, suggesting the president was already vulnerable before his latest shots at the pontiff.

The clash has also reached into church institutions and immigration policy. Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami had an $11 million federal contract canceled amid the fight, deepening tensions around a network that has served unaccompanied minors for more than 60 years. That kind of pressure, combined with Leo’s criticism of deportations, may force Catholic voters and clergy to confront whether political alignment with Trump can coexist with the church’s widening defense of migrants, peace and papal authority.