Pope Leo visits Spain after touring Türkiye, Lebanon and Africa: Here’s why he’s avoiding the U.S.

Pope Leo XIV arrived in Spain on Saturday for a week-long visit with stops in Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands. This is his third major international trip since he was elected to be the Bishop of Rome on May 8, 2025, having visited Türkiye and Lebanon late last year and Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea in April.

The first American-born pope was invited to visit the United States by Vice President J.D. Vance on behalf of President Donald Trump to celebrate the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. However, His Holiness turned down the offer, opting to meet with African migrants on the Italian island of Lampedusa.

A spokesperson for the Vatican said in February that Leo XIV had no plans to visit the country of his birth this year and it is likely he won’t step foot in the U.S. until at least 2029. According to another official that spoke with The Free Press, as long a Trump is in the White House the Pope “may never” visit the U.S.

A “bitter lecture” and a simmering feud

Pope Leo was critical of Trump’s immigration policy even before he was elected but initially he was cautious with the language he used. However, the pontiff started to become more vocal in October regarding the U.S.’ “inhuman” immigration policy. He was also critical of Trump’s campaign of blowing up supposed narcoboats in the Caribbean.

Then, just days after the U.S. captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Pope Leo spoke about how “diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force.” While he didn’t mention the U.S. or Trump directly, it was taken as a criticism of the White House and the president’s revamped Monroe Doctrine retitled the ‘Donroe Doctrine’.

This prompted the Department of Defense call the then Holy See’s ambassador to the United States, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, to come to the Pentagon for a highly unusual meeting. He was given what was described as a “bitter lecture” in which the cardinal was told bluntly that “the United States has the military power to do whatever it wants — and that the Church had better take its side,” according to reporting by The Free Press.

Then on February 28, Israel and the U.S. launched massive airstrikes on Iran and the following day Pope Leo expressed “deep concern” and called on the parties to stop the violence before it spiraled into “an irreparable abyss.” When Trump threatened Iran with complete annihilation Pope Leo said that it was “unacceptable” and urged citizens to raise their voices to condemn such actions.

Not long after that, Trump began insulting the pontiff on social media. He said that Pope Leo was “weak on crime,” and that he is “very liberal.” His Holiness has continued to speak out about policies that he doesn’t feel align with the message of Jesus and the Catholic church but made it known that he is not trying to debate Trump and that that is not in his interest “at all.”

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