CANADA PERSPECTIVE

The last time a world leader mocked the Pope, it was Stalin — and the Globe and Mail remembers.

The Globe and Mail publishes two in-depth analyses that form the most complete dossier in the panel. The first recalls that American presidents — Nixon the Quaker, Biden the Catholic, Reagan and Bush the Protestants — have all treated the Pope with absolute public respect. 'Until now,' the paper writes. Trump accused Leo XIV of being 'WEAK on Crime,' of 'catering to the radical left,' and of having been elected pope thanks to him.

The second analysis cuts deeper. It opens with Francis Rooney, former US ambassador to the Vatican under George W. Bush, recalling that 'the last time a world leader openly sparred with the leader of the Catholic Church, it was Joseph Stalin asking how many military divisions the Pope had.' Rooney says Trump has 'crossed some serious red lines' — nearly two-thirds of Americans call themselves Christian, and many, even non-Catholics, hold the Pope in high regard. The piece also documents the AI image of Trump as a Christ-like figure: ancient robes, light emanating from his hands, a bedridden man touched on the forehead. Trump deleted the image Monday and claimed he saw himself as a doctor. Rooney and evangelical conservatives called the image blasphemous.

The Globe and Mail places this feud in the context of the Iran war — Leo XIV denounced the strikes as 'inhumane.' But the paper notes that the real danger for Trump is electoral: Catholics make up one-fifth of the American electorate and are a swing bloc in Pennsylvania and Nevada.