US President Donald Trump launched a scathing attack on Pope Leo XIV late on Sunday, calling the pontiff “weak” on crime and “terrible” for foreign policy after the religious leader criticised Washington’s foreign and immigration policies.
The outburst marks a sharp deterioration in relations between the White House and the Vatican, which had maintained a cautious diplomatic distance since Pope Leo’s election in May 2025 as successor to Pope Francis.
Pope Leo XIV — the former Robert Prevost, an American-born cardinal — had publicly questioned aspects of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement and its military campaign against Iran, prompting the president’s response.
Sri Lanka connection
The Trump-Vatican standoff carries direct implications for Sri Lanka’s diplomatic agenda. In March 2026, Transport Minister Bimal Ratnayake delivered an official state visit invitation to Pope Leo XIV on behalf of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Himalee Arunatilaka, is concurrently accredited to the Holy See.
A deteriorating US-Vatican relationship could complicate Sri Lanka’s balancing act between Washington — where the government is navigating IMF review talks and Trump tariff pressures — and the Vatican, where it seeks to deepen ties.
Sri Lanka’s Catholic community, comprising roughly 6.1 per cent of the population, has maintained close institutional links with the Holy See. The Easter Sunday attack anniversary, commemorated just last week, underscored the community’s continued significance in national life.
