Pope warns of 'majoritarian tyranny', Trump opens fire on Italian PM

Pope Leo XIV has warned that democracies could slide into “majoritarian tyranny” in a letter to participants of a Vatican gathering on the exercise of power in democratic societies.

The remarks follow criticism from United States President Donald Trump, who took to social media to attack the pope over his comments on the war against Iran.

In the letter, Leo stressed that democracies can only function well when grounded in moral values.

“Lacking this foundation, (democracy) risks becoming either ⁠a majoritarian tyranny or a mask for the dominance of economic and technological elites,” he added.

The pope said the Catholic Church teaches that power should not be viewed as an end in itself, “but as a means ordered toward ⁠the common good”.

“This implies that the legitimacy of authority depends not on the accumulation of economic or technological strength, but on the wisdom and virtue ⁠with which it is exercised,” he added.

Leo also urged leaders in democratic societies not to cling to power, stating: “Temperance... proves ⁠essential for the legitimate use of authority, for true temperance restrains inordinate self-exaltation and acts as a guardrail against the abuse of power.”

Trump also doubled down on his criticism of the Pope in a post on Truth Social last night. The US president said "someone please tell Pope Leo" about the killings of protesters by Iran and that "for Iran to have a Nuclear Bomb is absolutely unacceptable."

Lacking courage

Trump further trained his guns on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, accusing her of lacking the courage to join the US in attacking Iran.

“Giorgia Meloni doesn’t want to help us in the war. I’m shocked,” Trump said.

“Do people like the fact that your president isn’t doing anything to get the oil (in Iran)? Does she like it? I can’t imagine,” he was reported as stating.

His comments came after Meloni said her government would suspend the automatic renewal of its defence cooperation agreement with Israel “in light of the current situation”.

The Italian premier had also criticised Trump for saying he did not think the pope was “doing a very good job” and for suggesting he should “stop catering to the radical left”.

Calling the remarks unacceptable, Meloni said she would not feel comfortable in a society where religious leaders are expected to follow political leaders.

Trump later fired back, saying: “She is the one who is unacceptable because she doesn’t care if Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow up Italy in two minutes if it had the chance.”

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