Sometimes the “good guys” wear white hats.
Well, in a sense.
The “good man” I am referring to is Pope Leo XIV, the American-born leader of the Catholic Church, who leads 1.4 billion people.
The “white hat” he wears is a skull cap called a “zucchetto,” which signifies his authority and humility in equal measure.
These days, Leo uses his authority and with quiet humility to stand up to bullies he should have stood up to long ago.
That bully is, of course, US President Donald Trump. His idea of diplomacy is to spew childish, profanity-laced threats around the world intended to scare or intimidate other presidents and prime ministers into acquiescence or submission.
For years, Trump’s modus operandi has worked. Too many presidents and prime ministers have chosen to appease him rather than challenge him.
Their short-sighted reasoning—that assuaging Trump’s ego would assuage his vile instinct for revenge—only emboldened a president who, like any bully, takes great pleasure in exploiting weaknesses to satisfy his narcissistic desire for control.
Clearly, Leo rejects appeasement as an antidote to coercion and hatred.
Unlike many insensitive politicians who air their fears with carefully worded evasions and bureaucratic rhetoric, Leo, to his credit, took a candid public stand against the ferocious idiots responsible for the disastrous war.
In light of this welcome, Leo not only adopted his predecessor Pope Francis’ honorable defiance of suffering and injustice, but refined it into a sharp and uncompromising critique of authoritarian hubris.
While most “leaders” of Western “liberal” democracies have been reluctant to condemn President Trump’s blatant declaration of genocidal intent, Leo, without hesitation and without the slightest hint of entitlement, has unequivocally voiced his opposition.
“As we all know, there was also a threat against the entire Iranian people. This is truly unacceptable,” Leo said in Italian. “And I ask everyone to think deeply and seriously about the innocent people who are also the victims of this escalation of war.”
Naturally, Leo’s warnings and appeals have confirmed to Trump and his evangelical supporters that “thinking” about the plight of “innocent people” is an uncomfortable and alien concept to them.
Trump and the carpet-bombing corporations have framed their unprovoked attack on Iran as a necessary holy war sanctioned by the teachings of a Lord they unconvincingly claim to be faithful to.
Leo flatly rejected the blatant profanity.
In a sermon delivered during Sunday Mass, Leo rejected the absurd idea that the God he serves and worships would heed the hysterical calls of warmongers.
Rather, he claimed that their “hands are covered in blood.”
“Brothers and sisters, this is our God. Jesus, the King of Peace, rejects war and no one can use it to justify war,” Leo said. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, and rejects them by saying, ‘Even if you pray a lot, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood.'”
Although Leo did not reveal his name, his scathing broadside was undoubtedly aimed at U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and a group of false “Christian” preachers cheering on the disastrous War of Choice.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could not escape Leo’s stick.
While responding to President Trump’s misplaced adventurism may have been a top priority for Leo when he offered the peace prayer in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on Saturday, I’m sure Prime Minister Netanyahu was also in his rhetorical crosshairs.
Leo mocked “the illusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and becomes increasingly unpredictable and aggressive.”
Trump and Netanyahu resemble conjoined twins who share a “fantasy of omnipotence” and an insatiable thirst for war.
Leo appealed to them to stop the genocide they had committed, this time against Iranians.
“To them we cry: Stop. It’s time for peace. Sit at the table of dialogue and mediation, not at the table where rearmament is planned and deadly actions are decided.”
“Enough of displays of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in the service of life,” he added.
The Trump administration’s response predictably reflected the brutality and self-aggrandizement that characterize the US commander-in-chief.
A senior Pentagon official delivered a not-so-veiled threat in a “bitter” meeting with the U.S. envoy at the Vatican.
Cardinal Christophe Pierre was reportedly warned that Washington “has the military power to do whatever it wants. The church had better stand by.”
Faced with the naked and unbridled hostility of a president who demands pious loyalty, Leo ends up offending the pushy president.
The Pope’s response was a simple and powerful statement of extraordinary resolve.
“I’m not afraid of the Trump administration or shouting out the message of the gospel. That’s what I’m here for and I believe that’s what the church is supposed to do here,” Leo said.
While besieged presidents lament their “weakness,” Leo proved through his poignant words and great example that true strength lies in moral clarity, not in the mad and empty pursuit of wealth and supremacy.
The defining aspect of this conflict between the agitators and the pope became clear when Trump posted and then deleted an image depicting himself as a literal Christ figure.
It was also an unfortunate attempt at self-deification and a reminder of the astonishing extent of President Trump’s defining conceit and vanity.
It was a crude expression of holiness from a man who had lived a life diametrically opposed to the values and beliefs he sought to exploit for his own narrow-minded political ends.
In this contest of personality and will, the gulf is clear. One offers the familiar metaphor of the strong, while the other reminds us that dignity is a dividend of tolerance and understanding.
The bully may have missiles and a presidential seal, but we have finally met a principled adversary who will not be intimidated, bribed, or frowned upon by complicity or silence.
And that seems to be the only idea Donald Trump can’t stand.
