No evidence Pope Leo XIV said, 'You cannot follow both Christ and the cruelty of kings'

Social media has been abuzz with claims about Pope Leo XIV since he became leader of the Roman Catholic Church in May 2025. 

As the first American pope in history and a strident critic of war, Leo's global influence and his relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration have fueled the spread of both verified information and baseless rumors.

For example, after Trump called Leo "weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy" in an April 12 Truth Social post, social media users shared a real post from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that appeared to defend Leo from Trump's attacks. We also debunked a satirical claim that Leo said he was "not afraid" to excommunicate Vice President JD Vance from the Catholic Church amid rising tensions between the Trump administration and the Vatican. 

Below is a collection of 18 rumors involving Leo that we've investigated. (For more on the pontiff, we previously put together a collection of questionable quotes attributed to him.)