New Pope likely to challenge Trump but will not be confrontational – UK expert
The first US Pope is likely to present a “quite challenging” message to President Donald Trump, according to a Vatican expert who met the new pontiff hours after his election.
Among the world leaders to congratulate Pope Leo XIV, Mr Trump spoke of the excitement and honour for America to have a Chicago-born man as the new head of the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church.
He is the first pontiff from North America, and spoke of peace, unity and bridge-building in his first words from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica where he appeared on Thursday to joyous crowds.
However, a social media account in the 69-year-old’s name before becoming Pope shared posts critical of the Trump administration. In February it shared an opinion piece which chastised US Vice-President JD Vance as wrong about some aspects of Christian teaching.
Asked if this could make a first meeting between the US leaders and the new Pope awkward, UK theologian Professor Anna Rowlands said she thinks the pontiff will be able to avoid confrontation while also challenging them.
Speaking from Rome, she told the PA news agency: “I think he might have this way of being quite a disarming presence. He’s gentle, he’s thoughtful. He’s almost all the opposite characteristics to Trump.
“So if you think about somebody quiet and not boisterous, someone who thinks before they speak, someone who is centred. There’s a kind of serenity about him. And he’s very unassuming. He’s almost exactly the opposite human characteristics to Donald Trump, and that could work in an interesting way.”
He’s unlikely to be confrontational, I think, because of his nature, and yet I think the content of what he says will be quite challenging
Prof Rowlands, originally from Manchester but now based in Durham, spent two years seconded to the Vatican during Francis’s papacy.
She met and shook hands with Pope Leo in the hours after his election on Thursday, describing the experience as “brief but really lovely”.
Asked further about how he might approach a meeting with Mr Trump, Prof Rowlands said: “He’s unlikely to be confrontational, I think, because of his nature, and yet I think the content of what he says will be quite challenging.
“I think he won’t want to simply judge Donald Trump. I think he will genuinely want to engage in a fruitful dialogue towards genuine human good, a just peace, security in the world, a genuine orientation towards real values – those are the kind of things he will want to enter into dialogue with the US administration on.”
Posting on his Truth Social platform about the new pontiff, Mr Trump said: “What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”
Mr Vance, who converted to Catholicism as an adult, also congratulated the new Pope, saying he is sure “millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church”.
Mr Trump drew criticism over the weekend after sharing an artificial intelligence-generated image of himself dressed as the head of the Catholic Church on social media, before the secret conclave meeting had begun.
The new Pope celebrated mass in the Sistine Chapel on Friday, beginning his first full day in his role as the Church’s leader.
The Vatican has confirmed he will be formally installed at a mass on May 18.
Among other messages of congratulations were those from the King and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Buckingham Palace said Charles sent a private message to Pope Leo, sending his and the Queen’s most sincere good wishes for his pontificate.
The King had developed a strong bond with Pope Leo’s predecessor Pope Francis over the years, and met him in person again not long before the 88-year-old’s death last month.
Sir Keir described the election of a new Pope as a “deeply profound moment of joy for Catholics in the United Kingdom and globally”, while the Church of England’s current most senior bishop said he looks forward to “working with” the new Pope.
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell said: “As Anglicans we give thanks for his call to Christians to be bridge-builders across the divisions of our world, and the divisions that continue to exist between churches.”
