A Chicagoan leader having a closed-door meeting with Democratic strategist David Axelrod the spring before the year'smidterm electionsis usually seen as a playbook for a big announcement.
Pope Leo XIV'sreportedconfab with the former senior adviser to formerPresident Barack Obamaon April 9 stoked all sorts of speculation. Was the pontiff going to formally meet with the 44th president? Announce a new communications strategy?
Or maybe, as some eyebrow-raisingpostson social media jokingly teased, foreshadowing a possible papal presidential run?
For instance, whenChristopher Hale, a Democratic activist and the author of the Substack site "Letters from Leo," posted on X about the pontiff and Axelrod meeting to his more than 65,000 followers, one user had a bit of fun.
"Pope Leo to visit Iowa, sources familiar say," humorously replied X userKeith Nagy, a communications staffer for California Democratic Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, to his 31,000 followers, complete with an apparent AI image of the pope in a cornfield.
And, X user ettingermentum, with more than 110,000 followers, cheekily asked ina poston April 11, "Who would be the funniest Dem to win in 2028 and just end up being a really good president somehow?"
"The pope," respondedDerek Guy, the noted menswear writer, to his more than 1.4 million followers on X.
Jokes aside, Leo has emerged as a serious critic of the Trump administration's war in Iran in recent weeks, boosting his profile on the world stage.
But could he actually run for president?
Since the Pope is an American, he would technically qualify under theU.S. Constitutionas a natural-born U.S. citizen, at least 35 years old (Pope Leo is 70), and a 14-year resident who could run for U.S. president.
But, don't get any hopes up. It would be almost functionally impossible for Leo to do so due to theCanon lawthat prohibits clergy from holding public office, not to mention the pope being a foreign head of state and the conflict of dual loyalty, Hale told USA TODAY.
"The pope is not going to run for president. He's legally able to, but he’s not going to," said Hale, who oversaw national Catholic outreach for Obama's 2012 re-election campaign. "He's also still a registered voter who voted absentee in the 2024 general election. We just don't know who he voted for."
Besides, it is strongly encouraged that the ordained do not seek public office, saidFather Francis X. Clooney, a professor of divinity and comparative theology at theHarvard Divinity School.
"The idea that clerics, people who are ordained, priests, bishops, cardinals, and popes, are pretty much told to stay out of politics," Clooney said. "But, if there are issues for the good of the community, a priest or bishop can speak out, but it’s not likely they would run for any public office."
Clooney recalled Pope John Paul II in 1981 asking then-Massachusetts Rep.Father Robert Drinan, the first Catholic priest to serve as a voting member in Congress, to choose between his congressional duties or his priestly obligations. Drinan was a Democrat who ran on an anti-war platform, defeating 14-term incumbentPhilip Philbin, and served for 10 years as a congressman. Drinan was critical of the U.S.' role in the Vietnam War and introduced the first impeachment resolution against Richard Nixon.
Leo criticizes Trump's Iran war
PresidentDonald Trumpis accustomed to criticism from Democrats and even MAGA-aligned media figures, whom he lashed out at in a Truth Social post this past week.
But the English-speaking pontiff has risen as an influential American critic living in the Vatican, using his platform on the world stage as a moral contrast to the president's more bombastic rhetoric and aggressive use of executive power.
Leo's recent public comments onsocial media criticizing the war, have even led some to speculate whether thepresident actually threatened him.
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Unlike previous popes who offered more general critiques of political and economic systems along with cultural and social values, Leo is being specific. He used his Palm Sunday message to directly address Trump's war with Iran, for instance, saying God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”
That stood in contrast to some conservative U.S. religious leaders, such as the Rev. Franklin Graham, who prayed for victory over Iran.
It should be noted that Pope Leo's worldviews as leader of the Catholic Church would not easily fit neatly into one political party or another in U.S. politics. He has spoken up against the excesses of greed and capitalism, but also has denounced causes held dear by American liberals,including abortion rights.Prior to becoming pope, he reposted messages and op-eds on X, formerly known as Twitter thatwere viewed as being critical of Trumpand now Vice PresidentJD Vance, who is Catholic. And public records show he has in the pastvoted in Republican primaries in Illinois.
However, Pope Leo has describedTrump's recentapocalyptic threats to Iranas "truly unacceptable" whilespeaking to reporterson April 7.
The pope urged listeners to reflect on the "many innocent people" in Iran, including children and the elderly, who have become "victims of this escalation."
He preached for peace, adding, "I would invite citizens of all the countries involved to contact the authorities, political leaders, congressmen, to ask them to work for peace and to reject war always."
Will Obama meet with Leo?
Regarding a possible meeting between the pope and Obama, the former president said a couple of months ago he wanted to meet the pontiff, as they do have some commonalities, like their hometown and a favorite baseball team.
"Being president, or even being an ex-president, I can kind of meet everybody. So, I've met a lot of folks. The person who I have not yet met, and that I'm looking forward to meeting – and I hope I get an opportunity sometime in the future – is the new pope, who's from Chicago, and a White Sox fan," Obama said onBrian Tyler Cohen's podcastin February.
It would not come as a surprise if the former president and the pontiff do meet someday, saidMaryann Cusimano Love, politics department chair at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.
"I'm certain they have a mutual admiration for each other," Cusimano Love said.
Pope Leo welcomes Iran war ceasefire:Pope Leo praises Iran deal after calling Trump threat 'unacceptable'
Don't 'read too much into the meeting' with Axelrod
Meanwhile, not much is known about Axelrod's visit with Pope Leo.
Pontiff wants peace instead of war:Pope Leo XIV calls Trump's Iran threats 'unacceptable,' urges peace
Clooney said that "he wouldn't read too much into the meeting."
Axelrod could have been meeting with the pontiff for many reasons, Cusimano Love said. Axelrod and his wife, Susan, are heavily involved in Chicago's Catholic community. Their daughter, Lauren, who has suffered from severe epilepsy since childhood, is a resident atMisericordia, a residential community and Catholic charity of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
Cusimano Love said while it's tempting for some to see the pope in a presidential light, he wouldn't consider the position.
"The pope's role is much larger than that. He's the leader of 1.3 billion Catholics in 193 countries, a much larger constituency than a president has to contend with," Cusimano Love said. "He's a person for everybody, and the concerns for human life and dignity. Those are values that go across political, religious and cultural lines."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Could Pope Leo run for president?
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