Pope Leo XIV condemned “fake news” on Easter Monday amid his call for global peace while seemingly taking aim at President Donald Trump.
The pope appeared to reference Trump, 79, directly in a post on X early Monday to his nearly 18 million followers.
“Often, the proclamation of truth is obscured by what we today call ‘fake news’—lies, insinuations, and unfounded accusations,” Leo wrote. “Yet, in the face of such obstacles, the truth does not remain hidden; rather, it comes forth to meet us, living and radiant, illuminating even the deepest darkness.”
The pointed post came just a day after Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, celebrated his first Easter Mass as pontiff by calling on nations in global conflicts to seek peace through dialogue rather than warfare.
“Let us allow our hearts to be transformed by his immense love for us!” Leo said Sunday. “Let those who have weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue! Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them!”
Leo did not directly mention the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran or Russia’s ongoing campaign in Ukraine, but quoted his predecessor, Pope Francis, who reminded worshippers last Easter of the “great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day.”
Leo also warned on Sunday against what he characterized as the ever-growing “globalization of indifference” toward suffering—a phrase he explicitly attributed to Pope Francis.
“We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent—indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people,” Leo said.
The pope has previously urged leaders to halt the ongoing wars in Iran and Ukraine. Last year’s Easter message delivered by Francis also stressed the preciousness of life as he called for peace in Ukraine and Gaza.
“There can be no peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and respect for the views of others,” Francis said last year. “What a great thirst for death, for killing we see in the many conflicts raging in different parts of the world.”
The White House, meanwhile, pushed back last month after Leo said God rejects the prayers of leaders who wage war, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defending the administration’s use of prayer in reference to U.S. military operations.
The United States was founded nearly 250 years ago on “Judeo-Christian values,” Leavitt told reporters when asked about Leo’s Palm Sunday remarks condemning the use of religion to justify war.
“And we have seen presidents, the leaders of the Department of War, and our troops go to prayer during the most turbulent times in our nation’s history, and I don’t think there is anything wrong with our military leaders or with the president calling on the American people to pray for our service members overseas,” Leavitt said last month.
She added that members of the military “appreciate the prayers and support” from Trump and his cabinet.
Leo had condemned the war in Iran during his Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, telling tens of thousands of worshippers that Jesus cannot be used to justify violence. The pope didn’t name specific leaders, but continued his recent criticism of the war and lamented that Christians in the Middle East were suffering due to the “atrocious” conflict.
“Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” Leo said. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”
