Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in “The Chosen,” is urging his followers to pray for President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV as the two are “at odds” over the conflict in Iran, noting that he agrees with the pope’s call for peace.
In an Instagram post Tuesday, Roumie addressed the back-and-forth between the pontiff and the president that has made international headlines this week. An image of Roumie shaking Leo XIV’s hand accompanied the post.
“I never imagined I’d see a day when the leader of our nation and the Holy Father might find themselves at odds,” he wrote. “It speaks to the weight — and uncertainty — of the times we’re living in. Yet, one thing remains firm: Christ is on the throne. He always has been. Always will be. And His victory is eternal. As Catholics — as Christians — we are called to follow Christ’s example in all things … even when that path is narrow, costly, and difficult to walk.”
In a Sunday Truth Social post, Trump called Leo “WEAK on crime, and terrible for foreign policy” because of his criticism of the Iran war. The pope responded by stressing that he did not “want to get into a debate” with Trump while vowing to “continue to speak out loudly against war.”
Roumie said he carries “a deep conviction for peace and restraint whenever possible,” noting that he has “lost extended family members” in “the crossfire of war and its humanitarian toll.” At the same time, he acknowledged that “nations have the right — and the responsibility — to defend their people.”
“Threats cannot be ignored,” he added. “But when that defense results in the loss of innocent life — especially women and children — my heart compels me to stand with Pope Leo XIV in his call for peace … even as I fall to my knees in prayer for an end to violence.”
Roumie cited Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel of Matthew, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God,” as “especially urgent now.” The pontiff also pointed to the verse as “a message that the world needs to hear today.”
“We’re living in a time when division comes far too easily — when the devil delights in turning us against one another, using our vulnerabilities, weaknesses and frankly anything and everything he can against us, seeking ultimately to destroy humanity in the process,” Roumie said.
“As that darkness presses in, I pray — for Pope Leo XIV, that he may continue to lead as a shepherd of light and peace for the Church Christ established. And I pray for our president, and for all leaders entrusted with decisions that carry the weight of life and death — that they may be guided by the Holy Spirit in wisdom, courage and prudence. These are burdens few can truly comprehend. To bear them well requires extraordinary discernment — and grace; that gift given to us as a result of the supreme sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Roumie concluded by calling on his followers to “pray for them both,” specifically that “the Sacred Heart of Jesus guide each and every decision they make.” He also prayed for “wisdom,” “peace” and “the protection of the innocent.”
In his Truth Social post over the weekend, the president insisted that he did not “want a pope who criticizes the president of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do.” Trump urged him to “stop catering to the radical left, and focus on being a great pope, not a politician.”
Responding to Trump’s comments, Pope Leo insisted: “I do not look at my role as being political.”
He told reporters, “I have no fear of either the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel.
“And that’s what I believe I am called to do and what the Church is called to do. We’re not politicians. We’re not looking to make foreign policy, as he calls it, with the same perspective that he might understand it,” he said.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected]
