In 2012, the L.A. Times said that about one quarter of USC’s student body was Catholic. Though nonsectarian, USC has long maintained a large Catholic student body. With a community of over 10,000 Catholics, according to the L.A. Times, the online battle between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV has left many feeling conflicted as tensions between the two major world leaders continue.
An American himself, the Pope has seemingly used prayers and Bible verses to express his disapproval for the Trump administration and its various political conflicts.
“The things that I say are certainly not meant as attacks on anyone. The message of the Gospel is very clear. ‘Blessed are the peacemakers,’” Pope Leo XIV told reporters Monday.
The head of the Vatican has also specifically disapproved of U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of prayer during the Pentagon worship service following the country’s attacks on Iran.
He took to X, posting “Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth.”
Professor of religion David Albertson specializes in teaching Christianity at USC. He said imbalance between Vatican City and the U.S. is not typical.
“It’s uncommon to have a Christian community that has so many people supporting this sort of authoritarian figure who … [are] then surprised when that person challenges the authority of the Pope,” he said.
“I’d say the general mood is very weary of America,” shared junior journalism major Olivia Hau.
Hau has spent the semester studying in Rome, as part of a USC “study abroad” program.
“There’s definitely been a shift in public sentiment about America and about Americans, especially given the outbreak of the war,” she said. “People feel a lot more threatened by the current American administration.”
Dean of Religious Life Varun Soni commented on the battle, noting that it is the first of its kind. “Politics and religion are very much intersecting and not in a very good way,” he said. “It’s very heavily affecting the Catholic community.”
Soni said that “no one” he has spoken to has been happy about the President’s feud with the pontiff.
“Our students don’t really want to see an American president go against an American pope. It makes you feel sort of torn apart,” he said.
Though this unprecedented power battle is occurring between a more progressive pope and a conservative president, Soni doesn’t believe the pope is bringing politics into the conflict.
“Everyone I’ve talked to feels as though Leo is the one who’s sincerely expressing Catholic doctrine, he’s not trying to politicize anything,” he said. “He’s just expressing the belief of the Catholic Church and peace.”
With two years left of Trump’s presidency — and much still unclear about the ongoing conflict in Iran — Catholic Americans are left questioning where their alliances really lie with the President or the Pope.