WASHINGTON — The Trump administration moved Sunday to clarify the proper boundary between religion and politics, with the president issuing a lengthy public statement criticizing Pope Leo XIV for "catering to the Radical Left" and urging the pontiff to "focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician."

The statement was posted to Truth Social moments before the president shared an AI-generated image of himself in a biblical-style robe, laying hands on a bedridden man as light emanated from his fingers, American eagles circled overhead, and a flag filled the sky behind him.

"Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," the president wrote, adding that he preferred Leo's estranged 73-year-old brother, Louis Prevost, whom he described as "all MAGA" and noted "gets it."

The rebuke came one day after the American-born pontiff, speaking at a prayer vigil in Rome, condemned what he called the "idolatry of self" and "delusion of omnipotence" driving the U.S.-Israel war in Iran. Leo did not mention the president by name. The president mentioned Leo by name eleven times.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has led prayers "in the name of Jesus Christ" at Pentagon press conferences and wartime briefings, could not be reached for comment on the jurisdictional question of which Jesus-adjacent communications constitute appropriate religious expression and which represent unacceptable political interference.

"We are not politicians," Pope Leo told reporters aboard the papal plane to Algeria on Monday. "I will continue to speak out loudly against war."

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the administration welcomed the pope's clarification and remained open to further dialogue, provided the dialogue did not include references to peace, civilian casualties, or the passage from Isaiah in which God declines to hear prayers from those whose "hands are full of blood."

The president also took partial credit for Leo's elevation to the papacy, writing that the Church selected an American pope specifically to manage relations with his administration and that "if I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican." Vatican historians noted this would represent a novel addition to the doctrine of papal succession, though a committee has been constituted to review the matter.

According to AP VoteCast data from the 2024 election, Trump carried 55% of Catholic voters. A subsequent poll found Leo viewed favorably by 42% of Americans, compared to 41% for the president. The White House did not respond to questions about whether the favorability gap constituted a foreign policy threat.

The Pentagon's January meeting with Cardinal Christophe Pierre — Pope Leo's personal U.S. envoy, summoned for a briefing on why the pope's calls for peace were considered hostile — was described by Vatican officials as "unprecedented." The Defense Department described it as routine.

"Someone has to stand up and say there is a better way," Leo told reporters, adding that too many innocent people were being killed.

The president said he liked Leo's brother better.