Strong alignment with the message and figure of Leo XIV shows the Argentine Church against the counterpoint that in the last hours confronted the Pope with the president of the United States, Donald Trump, who accused the North American pontiff of being “weak on crime and terrible on foreign policy.”
In response to a query THE NATIONthe president of the Argentine Episcopal Conference and archbishop of Mendoza, Monsignor Marcelo Colomborevalued the Pope’s mission as a promoter and defender of peace.
“We are really at a very critical moment for humanity. The escalation of violence reveals to us that the imposition of the interests of the different actors prevails about the search for a solution that will silence the weapons and pave the way to peace. The Pope is a servant of peacehis gestures and words go in that direction,” said Colombo.
The head of the Episcopate recalled the Pope’s recent invitation “to an unarmed and disarming peace”, in the last message for the World Day of Peace which was celebrated on January 1.
“How many times have we heard Pope Francis speak about the business of war. May Pope Leo express himself with passion for peace It is a concretion of the gospel and a testimony his service as a good shepherd, said the archbishop of Mendoza. And he added: “With the freedom of the children of God and in fulfillment of his pastoral mission, The Pope asks for peace and urges world leaders to work for it”.
The counterpoint between Trump and the Pope occurs at a time when the president Javier Milei He ratified his alignment with Trump. The libertarian leader is even expected to travel to Israel on Friday for the events for that country’s independence, where he will remain until Wednesday the 22nd.
For this reason, it is most likely that Milei did not attend on Tuesday the 21st to the mass that Monsignor Colombo and the group of bishops They will celebrate in the Basilica of Luján for the first anniversary of the death of Francisco. The Episcopal Conference invited the President to the religious service, as well as his ministers, all the governors and the heads of the Senate, Vice President Victoria Villarrueland the Chamber of Deputies, Martin Menem.
In the dialogue that Leo XIV had with the journalists on the plane that took him to Algeriathe pontiff said: “I am not afraid of the Trump administration or of loudly proclaiming the message of the Gospel, which It’s what I think I have to do and it is the reason why the Church is here.”
“I am not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loud about the Gospel message. And that is what I believe I am called to do and what the Church is called to do. We are not politicians. We are not seeking to do foreign policy, as he calls it, with the same perspective that he could understand it. But I do believe that the message of the Gospel, ‘blessed are the peacemakers’, is a message that the world needs to hear today,” were the Pope’s words in response to Trump.
In response to the query THE NATION about whether there is fear in the Church that the war between the United States and Israel against Iran acquires more and more expressions of a religious nature, Monsignor Colombo stated that the Holy Father “taught us in that message for the World Day of Peace that a fundamental service that religions must provide to suffering humanity is monitor the growing attempt to transform even thoughts and words into weapons.”
“The great spiritual traditions, as well as the correct use of reason, lead us to go beyond blood or ethnic ties, beyond the fraternities that only recognize those who are similar and reject those who are different,” said the archbishop of Mendoza, quoting the Pope’s message. He noted that “these words are “an answer to those who want to convert their war intentions into religious questions.”
Church sources consulted by this newspaper highlighted that the Bishops in the United States support Leo XIV’s claims and they agree with him, as also happens in Italy. “In contrast to Trump, The Pope is very measured and in his role. He always makes it clear that he is not a politician and does not fulfill a specific function in that field. Preach the gospel,” they insisted. They recognize, however, that “The Pope is always a moral voice, although he has no weight on the international stage”.
