BATON ROUGE — Bishop Michael Duca of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge urged his fellow Catholics to "not take the bait of manufactured conflict" following comments President Donald Trump made against Pope Leo XIV as the American-born pontiff expressed hope for peaceful resolutions of conflicts worldwide, specifically the ongoing military action by the United States and Israel in Iran. 

Bishop Duca warns Catholics from allowing themselves to "be consumed by voices that profit from division. As Christians, there is only one voice we must follow above all others - the voice of Christ, echoed through His Church."

"Many of Pope Leo's predecessors, including Saint John Paul II, spoke with moral clarity during times of extraordinary global tension. These Successors of Peter spoke words that were pastoral appeals, rooted in the Gospel, and with profound love for the human family," Duca added in his letter to Catholics. "Pope Leo XIV today speaks in that same tradition. He calls our hearts back to the hard and holy work of dialogue, encounter, and reconciliation."

Trump attacked Leo's character and leadership over the weekend, saying that he did not feel the Pope is “doing a very good job” and that “he's a very liberal person," while also suggesting the pontiff should “stop catering to the Radical Left.”

Flying back to Washington from Florida, Trump used a lengthy social media post to sharply criticize Leo, then kept it up after deplaning, in comments on the tarmac to reporters.

“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” the president wrote in his post, adding, “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon."

Trump has repeatedly said he would not apologize to the head of the Catholic Church.

Before Trump's comments, Leo suggested that a "delusion of omnipotence" is fueling the U.S.-Israel war in Iran. 

"The Pope is not a politician," Duca said in a statement Thursday. "He is the Vicar of Christ, entrusted with proclaiming the Gospel "in season and out of season," challenging all people—regardless of nation or office—to measure their words and actions against the truth of Jesus Christ revealed in the Gospels. The Church always seeks to speak for the dignity of the human person, the sanctity of life, and the urgent call to peace."

Duca's full letter can be read here.