Has any prior pope ever called out a U.S. president for lying?

Has any prior president ever repeatedly, publicly falsely accused a pope of taking positions antithetical to Catholic teaching?

It would be hard to overstate how unprecedented this situation is. It’s hard just to fathom it.

At least four times in recent weeks, President Donald Trump has implied or outright stated that Pope Leo XIV approved of Iran having a nuclear weapon. “The pope made a statement. He says Iran can have a nuclear weapon,” heclaimed in an April 16 exchangewith a reporter. No such statement, needless to say, existed, and this false claim was immediately debunked both byCatholic sourcesand by amainstream media outlets.

Yesterday, May 5th, Trumpdoubled down on his preposterous falsehood:

The Pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think that’s very good. I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people, but I guess, if it’s up to the Pope, OK. He thinks it’s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.

This outrageous lie1elicited a jaded dismissalfrom Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who downplayed the possibility of Pope Leo himself responding to this new provocation.

The Pope goes forward on his path, in the sense of preaching the Gospel, of preaching peace … Even in the face of these new attacks, I do not know whether the Pope will have the occasion to respond.… The Pope has already responded; I would not add anything.

Later the same day, though, Pope Leo did find time to respond—and his response is extraordinary. Against Trump’s false claim, he simply invoked the Church’s longstanding position against all nuclear weapons. He emphasized that, in opposing war and calling for peace, he was simply proclaiming the gospel of peace. And, in an unmistakable reference to the falsity of the charge of his position on Iran having a nuclear weapon, he called for anyone wanting to criticize his message to “do so truthfully” or “with the truth”:2

I have been speaking out ever since I was elected—and now we are close to the anniversary. I said “Peace be with you.” The Church’s mission is to preach the gospel, to preach peace. If anyone wishes to criticize me for proclaiming the gospel, let that person do so truthfully. For years, the Church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt on that point. I simply hope to be heard for the sake of the Word of God. Thank you.

Source: Drudge Report