Will Pope Leo speak truth to power to Donald Trump?

The Vatican's money problems mean Pope Leo’s freedom to act as an independent moral player on the world stage is compromised

If Pope Leo goes after Maga money in the USA to sort out the Vatican’s financial crisis, some observers fear this could draw him into an alliance of some sorts with Trump. Picture: Antonio Masiello/Getty

Will an American Pope ever go head-to-head with an American president? What a bizarre scenario — but in the greatly unsettled and uncertain world in which we now live, such a confrontation cannot be entirely ruled out. But to what end?

For starters, on his form so far, marked by disdain for convention, protocol, and a rules-based order — not to mention moral norms — there is no reason to believe that President Trump would even listen to Pope Leo XIV, let alone pay heed.