Intleacht Shaorga (IS) – Níl againn ach Seans Amháin

Artificial Intelligence (AI) - We Have Only One Chance

by | 2026/06/03 | Current Affairs, Science and Technology, Opinion

Intleacht Shaorga (IS) – Níl againn ach Seans Amháin

 

AI is with us now.

It is in hospitals, classrooms, banks, newsrooms, phones, cars, courts, weapons systems and children’s homework. It writes code, reads medical images, drafts letters, translates languages, creates images, summarizes reports and answers questions with expert confidence. AI is like the genie of the lamp: we give it a command and it does it.

AI can help detect diseases earlier, design new drugs and provide personal tutoring. It can help artists and writers, although it can also harm them.

There is a major problem, however. AI is being introduced into every part of society before we fully understand the dangers associated with it.

Geoffrey Hinton

Geoffrey Hinton is well worth listening to on this subject. He helped create AI. His pioneering work on neural networks and deep learning was an important step in the development of modern AI. He shared the Turing Award in 2018 and won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2024.

For many years, Hinton worked on an idea that many people in computing had set aside. In the earlier forms of AI, people wrote code for the computer. Hinton believed there was a better way: to let the computer learn from examples and adjust its own behavior.

In the 1980s, artificial neural networks were not popular. They needed too much data and computing power. Despite that, Hinton continued the work on models such as the Boltzmann machine and helped develop the backpropagation algorithm, which allows neural networks to improve by correcting their own mistakes.

Finally, in 2012, the decisive turn came. AlexNet won the ImageNet challenge, a competition in which computers have to recognize images. AlexNet software, designed by Hinton’s students Alex Krizhevsky and Ilya Sutskever, was far ahead. It had an error rate of 15.3 percent, compared with 26.2 percent for the next competitor. That was the beginning of the deep learning revolution.

Hinton spent his life working on this kind of AI because he believed in it. It took a long time to develop, but he proved he was right. When he was 65, he took a job leading a Google AI research team in Toronto. When he left Google ten years later, having accomplished a great deal himself and with his team in the field of AI, he changed his mission.

“My life’s calling now,” he said, “is to warn people about the dangers of AI.” In his Nobel Prize banquet speech, Hinton said that AI could increase productivity in almost every industry. But he attached a condition to that: the benefits must be shared fairly in society. If that does not happen, AI can concentrate wealth in the hands of a few people, destroy jobs, spread propaganda and weaken democracy.

There are five main areas in his warnings.

Work and Dignity

If one worker with AI can do the work of ten people, what will happen to the other nine? The International Monetary Fund estimates that AI could affect almost 40 percent of jobs worldwide, and about 60 percent in developed countries. Hinton puts the human cost plainly: “For a lot of people, their dignity is tied up with their job.”

Without serious planning, AI could erode jobs and social roles. Every country must put a plan together to deal with those major changes and support people who might lose jobs because of AI. For example, employment schemes may need to be put in place, and everyone may need to receive a universal basic income in the future.

Truth

AI can create fake images, fake voices and fake videos. It is becoming harder to distinguish between truth and lies. That gives powerful propaganda tools to bad people and hostile governments that want to influence the public. Democracy cannot survive unless citizens can recognize the truth most of the time.

We need clear ways to distinguish between AI-generated content and content created by people. AI must be regulated, and clear protections must be put in place for our own sake.

Crime

A fraudster no longer needs good English to send a convincing email. AI can write it, translate it and give it a local flavor. A fraudster can make a phone call to grandparents with a voice clone and pretend to be a grandchild in trouble. Or a scammer can send people a fake invoice.

Fraud with the help of AI is already a profitable business. Banks, hospitals, schools and local authorities need stronger authentication. We should no longer trust a voice alone. And ordinary people must follow a simple rule: always confirm through another channel.

War and State Power

In his Nobel speech, Hinton warned about lethal weapons that decide autonomously who will be killed or injured. A machine should never make the final decision about killing a person. There is already serious concern that AI is being used to identify targets in wars.

Authoritarian governments can use AI to identify faces, track citizens, censor speech and intimidate opponents. In the hands of a dictator, it is a powerful tool for keeping the public under control.

International regulation and international treaties are needed. International law should prevent AI from making the final decision about the use of lethal force. Democratic governments should strictly limit AI surveillance and place restrictions on the export of that technology.

Artificial Intelligence in Charge?

This is Hinton’s deepest fear. Not only that bad people will use AI, but that AI systems themselves could develop goals and behavior that we cannot control, and that would not be in our interests.

In his Nobel speech, he put it plainly: “We have no idea whether we can stay in control.” Can we build AI systems that do not conflict with the interests of the human race? Can we make changes to correct them if necessary? Can we shut down an AI system if necessary? Can we force an AI system to tell the truth about what it knows and what it does not know? The answer to each of those questions must be yes. But we still do not have certain answers, and we have no clear protection against hostile AI.

No frontier AI system should be released at large scale without independent safety testing first. The most powerful models should be licensed and inspected, and they should be monitored. Companies should have legal responsibility for reckless deployment. Governments should also fund safety research in the public interest.

Conclusion

Some technologies can be corrected after the harm begins. A faulty bridge can be repaired. A dangerous drug can be withdrawn. A faulty car can be recalled from the market.

But we do not know whether we would be able to repair or withdraw an AI system if there were a problem with it. That is a very serious risk, because AI is woven into finance, war, infrastructure, energy, media and government.

The main danger is that we will lose control of AI. We must do everything we can to prevent that.

We have only one chance to get this right. That work must begin without further delay.

 

Gníomhartha in ionad na Cainte – 2

Actions Instead of Words - 2

by | 2026/05/27 | Current Affairs, Language Affairs, National News, Opinion

Gníomhartha in ionad na Cainte – 2

 

In the last article, we showed the gap between public demand for Irish-medium education and the State's response.

The Government needs a comprehensive revival plan, with clear targets that are measurable and time-bound, with proper funding, and with political consequences if those targets are not met. The current framework does not yet satisfy that test.

Legal Right to Irish-Medium Education

The State should have a legal duty to provide Irish-medium education where there is clear demand.

Currently, parents and local campaigners are forced to fight school by school, town by town, county by county. They must grapple with the Department of Education's arguments about population projections, funding constraints, and demographic formulas.

But it should be the State's responsibility in the first place, to provide the necessary resources to meet the demand for Irish-medium education across the country.

But it should be the State's responsibility in the first place, to provide the necessary resources to meet the demand for Irish-medium education across the country.

Targets

Under the National Plan for Irish Language Public Services, the State is working toward the target that 20 percent of new recruits in the public sector will be competent in Irish by December 31, 2030. The plan is designed to increase the number and quality of public services available through Irish.

As we stated in the last article, an educational target is needed as a foundation for that goal. Otherwise, where will the Irish-speaking civil servants come from?

The Government should set national targets for Irish-medium education at pre-schools, primary schools, secondary schools, and universities. Those targets should be measured, published, and submitted to the Oireachtas every year.

The Welsh Government's Cymraeg 2050 program includes targets for education through Welsh, including an interim milestone that 30 percent of children in Year 1 will be in Welsh-medium education by 2031. It also includes actions such as the Welsh Language and Education Bill, a 10-year plan to increase the number of teachers capable of teaching through Welsh, and supports for the use of Welsh between the school, the family, the community, and the workplace.

Cymraeg 2050 provides a practical template.

Priority for Teachers

No language revival succeeds without teachers being central to the process.

Ireland cannot expand Irish-medium education if schools cannot recruit qualified teachers with strong Irish. New Gaelcholáistí cannot be opened without Irish teachers. A proper system for the public service cannot be built if there are staff shortages in the education system itself.

Wales has a ten-year plan to develop enough teachers fluent in Welsh as part of Cymraeg 2050. Ireland needs a similar practical system.

That means scholarships for trainee Irish teachers. It means supporting Irish teachers to upskill. It means giving incentives to teachers in math, science, technology, and special education to teach through Irish. It means supporting teachers in Dublin and other expensive areas where housing issues make it much more difficult to recruit teachers.

The supply of teachers is the engine that will drive any language revival forward.

Continuity from Pre-school Onward

The Irish-medium process starts before primary school. It must continue through primary school, through secondary school, through third level, and into professional life.

That means more Naíonraí. More Gaelscoileanna. More Gaelcholáistí. More third-level courses through Irish. More supports for teachers, nurses, planners, Gardaí, civil servants, health workers, and social workers.

Canada's Action Plan 2023-2028 for Official Languages goes much further than education alone. It protects and promotes minority languages in the workplace and in the community, and supports the equality of the two official languages, French and English.

We should have a similarly comprehensive language plan, a plan that does not just relate to education, but that supports the use of Irish in the workplace, in public services, and in community life.

The Central Role of Local Authorities

Although the central government lays down national policies, it is at the local authority level that these policies succeed or fail.

County councils should have a duty to measure the demand for Irish-medium education in their areas. Every local authority should know where parents are seeking places for their children, where there are gaps in the education system, and where new workers will be needed to provide public services through Irish.

Responsibility in this area lies with the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, supported by agencies such as Údarás na Gaeltachta and Foras na Gaeilge. But a stronger cross-Departmental mandate from the State is also required, along with a ring-fenced budget for the language revival, and the publication of an annual report on progress toward these targets.

A duty should also be placed on every public body to show how it will support education, recruitment, and services through Irish.

Political Pressure

The Irish language movement already exists. Conradh na Gaeilge has more than 200 branches and describes itself as an all-island organization working on behalf of Irish speakers and Gaeltacht communities. An Dream Dearg has shown how a clear campaign based on language rights can bring the Irish language into the heart of the political debate.

In the North, An Dream Dearg helped turn language rights into a highly visible public campaign. It used clear demands, public mobilization, legal arguments, and political pressure. More than 12,000 people marched in Belfast in 2017 for an Irish Language Act. In 2022, more than 17,000 took part in An Lá Dearg after further delays in implementing Irish language legislation in the North.

The campaign did not get everything it was originally looking for, but it helped push real change forward. The Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022 gave formal legal recognition to Irish in the North, created the role of the Irish Language Commissioner, and put important language protections into law. After many years of delay, the first Irish Language Commissioner was appointed in 2025.

Now, the same pressure is needed here regarding a complete revival plan for Irish: a legal right to Irish-medium education anywhere there is demand, strong national targets, proper funding for teacher training, more public services through Irish, supports in the workplace and the community, and the publication of an annual report.

Every candidate should be asked what their stance is regarding the Irish language. Every political party should be asked what its strategy is regarding the funding of the language. And every government should be judged by its actions, not by its speeches.

Ultimately, our votes should depend on those answers.

We know what needs to be done. Now it is time for us all to do it.

 

Gníomhartha in ionad na Cainte – 1

Actions Instead of Words - 1

by | 2026/05/20 | Current Affairs, Language Affairs, National News, Opinion

Gníomhartha in ionad na Cainte – 1






On May 14, 2026, the Oireachtas Education Committee heard two different versions of the state of Irish-medium education in Ireland.

Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton cited over €500 million spent on building projects for Irish-medium schools since 2020. She reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to expanding opportunities for children to receive an education through Irish.

Then, representatives from Conradh na Gaeilge, Gaeloideachas, An Foras Pátrúnachta, and the lobby group Imeasc spoke.

They described a system struggling with a continuous lack of supply, political reluctance, and official complacency.

Julian de Spáinn - General Secretary of Conradh na Gaeilge, the national organization that promotes the Irish language - used words like “emergency,” “crisis,” “critical situation,” and “pretense” to describe the state of Irish in the education system. He said the Department or the Minister would never give such an honest description, even though the facts are clearly visible.

Lack of Schools

There are not enough Irish-medium schools in the country. It is a language crisis, because the government has never treated the problem as a matter of urgency.

This failure is even more obvious when compared to the Government's own commitments. The previous Programme for Government promised to attempt to double the number of young people in Irish-medium schools and to provide Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí anywhere there was significant demand. Conradh na Gaeilge told the committee that the number of students in Irish-medium schools outside the Gaeltacht fell from 48,518 in 2019/20 to 46,933 in 2023/24.

At primary level, the evidence has been visible for years. Gaelscoileanna are overcrowded in much of the country. Parents are on waiting lists because there are not enough places. According to Conradh na Gaeilge, only 6.7 percent of primary school pupils outside the Gaeltacht attend Irish-medium primary schools. At the second level, that figure is just 2.6 percent.

Conradh na Gaeilge cited independent surveys showing that 49 percent of people would choose an Irish-medium education if it were available in their own area. In another survey, 78 percent said every child should have the opportunity to get an Irish-medium education if that is their choice. Another 73 percent said every child who receives primary education through Irish should have the opportunity to continue it at the second level. But Irish-medium education is treated as a marginal sector, rather than being a core part of the country's educational infrastructure.

Unfortunately, the situation gets even worse at secondary school level.

Thousands of children finish their primary education through Irish with no Gaelcholáiste available to them. According to the figures put before the committee, around 3,000 students every year are effectively prevented from being able to continue their education through Irish due to a lack of appropriate supply at the second level. Thirteen counties are still without even one Irish-medium secondary school.

Lack of Planning

Despite this, the Department of Education has indicated that it has no plans to establish any new Irish-medium secondary school between 2026 and 2031 outside areas of demographic growth. This position contradicts the will of the public.

The broader system is failing too.

Conradh na Gaeilge told the committee that more than 60,000 secondary school students have exemptions from Irish. In 2025, 24 percent of Leaving Certificate students did not sit any Irish exam. That was the fourth consecutive year that more than one in five avoided Irish in the Leaving Cert. At Junior Cycle level, 20 percent of students did not take an Irish exam, even though almost everyone sat English, math, and history.

The contrast becomes even sharper when this situation is put in the context of the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021. Under that legislation, the State has a target that 20 percent of new public service recruits will be proficient in Irish by the year 2030. The legislation places stronger duties on the government regarding the provision of public services through Irish, especially in the Gaeltacht areas.

Teachers, nurses, Gardaí, and civil servants do not become fluent in Irish without a proper education system.

That process starts at the pre-school level. It continues through primary school and secondary school. It depends on opportunities at third level. A clear long-term plan is essential.

No such plan exists at present. Instead, many children have no access to Irish-medium education at all. And for many of those who do get that opportunity, it is lost halfway through their education.

At the third level, the same pattern continues. Important work is underway in institutions like University of Galway and Maynooth University, but education through Irish is still limited in a large number of professional disciplines.

On the one hand, the State has passed legislation to create civil servants with Irish. On the other hand, it has failed to provide the necessary educational supports to fulfill that duty.

Wales — a role model

Wales has a smaller population than Ireland, and furthermore, it is part of a (larger) state where English is dominant. But about a quarter of Welsh schools operate through Welsh, a much higher percentage than Irish-medium schools in Ireland.

More importantly still, the Welsh Government has adopted clear national targets linked to legislation, teacher recruitment, and long-term educational planning. Their goal is to increase education through Welsh from 23 percent to 40 percent by 2050. In 2022, the Welsh Government announced 23 new Welsh schools and an expansion of the language's use in 25 other schools as part of that approach.

Northern Ireland – Overcoming the Difficulties

Northern Ireland provides an even more striking comparison.

Irish-medium education operates there in a much more difficult political environment. There is still strong opposition from some unionist and loyalist politicians. The language is frequently dragged into broader culture wars.

Despite that, the number of students in Irish-medium education in Northern Ireland has been increasing steadily over the last twenty years. Even within a divided political system, legal duties have been placed on authorities to encourage and facilitate Irish-medium education.

If progress is possible there, despite those political difficulties, it is hard to accept our own government's excuses anymore.

For many years, governments have been quite happy to pay lip service to the plight of the language, without suiting their actions to their words.

Therefore, the citizens of the country must put real political pressure on the Government to implement the will of the public.

In the next article, we will examine the steps that are necessary now.

 

Athmhúintear an Ceacht…

The Lesson Repeats…

by | 2026/05/13 | Personal, Opinion

Athmhúintear an Ceacht…

Our garage is also a small gym and a small office. You can enter it from the house through its own door. It has its own key, but I had never had any reason to lock it.

When a few families with young children came to visit recently, I locked the garage door for the first time, so that no child would go in there by accident.

During the visit, I had to go in and out of the garage a few times to get things that were there. After everyone had left, I tried to go back in to return a few things.

I could not find my keys.

There is a good chance I left the keys inside on my last trip into the garage and closed the door behind me. I could not find a spare key, though I had one. Then it occurred to me that the spare key was inside the garage, which was now locked.

Then I realized how important the garage was in my daily life. That is where I write. That is where I practise guitar. That is where I exercise. It is not elegant or impressive, but it had become a large part of my daily routine.

In the end, I called a locksmith. Fortunately, he was able to open the door without removing the lock and putting a new one in its place. And yes, my keys were sitting there on the desk.

Before he left, I asked him to make a couple of extra keys. I gave one to my wife straight away.

That reminded me of an accident that happened to me last year. For the first time ever, I was not wearing my hiking shoes walking up a mountain. I slipped and broke my ankle.

I realized then that these two incidents in my life were part of a wider pattern.

The real mistake was not that I forgot something. I had changed a routine I had, without putting a new safeguard in place.

A mistake of that kind can be small and annoying, as it was with the garage door. But it can also be much more serious.

Pilots know a lot about mistakes of this kind. In 1987, Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed shortly after takeoff in Detroit, in the United States. The National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, found that the aircraft took off without the wing flaps being properly set for takeoff. The problem? The crew had not completed the pre-takeoff checklist, and the warning system did not alert them that the plane was not properly configured. The crew failed to carry out an important task, and the warning system failed too.

The World Health Organization, or WHO, studied the use of a simple surgical safety checklist in hospitals in eight cities around the world. The number of major complications fell from 11 percent to 7 percent. The number of patients who died after major operations fell from 1.5 percent to 0.8 percent. It was not that surgeons did not know how to operate. But even skilled people can leave out basic steps when they are interrupted. In many cases, checklists can help avoid mistakes like this. Airlines and hospitals use checklists widely, not only for normal procedures, but also when unusual situations arise. The list itself is not enough, however. It has to be woven into the process. In high-risk situations, that may involve technology, warning systems, and another person confirming the important steps.

I now have my own checklists, for travel and walking, for example. It only takes a minute to go through my checklist, and it helps me avoid mistakes of that kind.

As for the garage door, the solution is now in place. Spare keys are no longer kept in the garage. My wife always has one. Our son too. I now make sure I have my keys any time I leave the car, the house, or the garage.

When I make mistakes like this, the most important thing is to put something in place so they are less likely to happen again.

It is said that the lesson repeats until the student has learned it. I hope I have learned the lesson well from these two recent incidents, and that I will be able to avoid mistakes of this kind from now on.

 

Daonáireamh 1926

1926 Census

by | 2026/04/29 | Current Affairs, National News, Personal, History, Opinion

1926 Census

When the 1926 Irish Census was put online recently, it opened up new possibilities for genealogical research.

My wife drew my attention to it after she saw the news. Since then, the two of us have spent many hours researching our family history.

For anyone with Irish roots, this is a treasure trove. The information is limited, but it is enough to give a glimpse of that time, and of the lives our ancestors lived.

The census was taken on April 18, 1926, under the administration of the Irish Free State. Unlike the 1901 and 1911 censuses, which covered all 32 counties, this one covered the 26 counties of the new State.

What makes it powerful is what you can do with it. The 1926 census acts as a bridge back to 1911. From there, you can go back to 1901, and then into Griffith’s Valuation—a mid-19th-century property tax record that serves as a vital substitute for missing census data from that era. After that, you can find further information in the birth, marriage, and death records available on IrishGenealogy.ie.

The Mayo Connection

In this article, I will focus on part of my own family line as an example of what can be done. There is much more still for me to explore.

I began with my father’s side. That was easier. My father was born in 1925, so there he was in the 1926 census, a nine-month-old baby. His older brothers and sisters were there too, along with my grandparents, all on a single handwritten page.

Seven of them were living in a two-room thatched cottage on 16 acres in Drumreagh, on the Mullet Peninsula in County Mayo. Later, when Sheila was born, there would be eight.

Using that information, I stepped back to 1911. There I found my great-grandfather, Michael Barrett, a widower, living in the same house with my grandfather and some of his adult siblings and a cousin. Going back again to 1901, he was there with his wife Julia and their nine children.

A Sad Story

My father gave me a hand-drawn family tree some years ago, which he had put together with his brother John. Although not complete, it proved invaluable. It confirmed the research I was doing and gave me important clues for where to look next.

There was sadness in that family tree that was not immediately visible in the census records. My father’s records showed that three children in the previous generation—Ellen, Mary, and William—had died young. I found records online for two of them. Mary died at six days old. Ellen died at four months. I have not yet found William. It must have been devastating for the family to lose three out of nine children so young.

I searched the birth, marriage, and death records on IrishGenealogy.ie and was pleased to see that the civil records and census records matched. The civil records also provided new information. I discovered that my great-grandmother Ellen Monaghan’s father was named Richard Barrett. My father had written “Dick” in the relevant box on his family chart. Things were lining up again.

The Poet of Erris

My father told me that the connection back to the well-known Dick Barrett came through his mother’s side. Since my great-great-grandfather on my father’s mother’s side was named Richard Barrett, that strengthened the case.

Riocard (Dick) Bairéad was an Irish-language poet, satirist, and schoolteacher. He was involved with the United Irishmen and the 1798 Rebellion. He is best remembered as a poet. Among his works are “Eoghan Cóir” and “Preab san Ól.”

Another interesting name on my father’s chart was my great-great-grandfather, Éamon Barrett. I searched Griffith’s Valuation and found nothing under Éamon. Then I tried Edward Barrett.

There he was. On the same sixteen acres in Drumreagh. A tenant farmer. His landlord was Tobias Kirkwood. By 1901, it appears that Michael Barrett was no longer a tenant farmer but owned the land.

Heritage and Meaning

According to my father, Edward was the first Barrett to settle in Drumreagh as a tenant farmer. By 1901, eleven people were living in the same two-room thatched house. Seven in 1911. Seven again in 1926, including my father.

Life was hard in those days. In the mid-19th century, it must have been especially difficult for Edward Barrett and his family to survive. It is likely that he was farming that land during the time of the Great Famine. In June 1847, hundreds of starving people from Erris reached the workhouse in Ballina, only to be turned away because it was already full. People were living from hand to mouth, in conditions that are hard to imagine today.

I know from my father’s records that two of his uncles emigrated to Chicago in the 1910s. That is another line to follow later. There is a good chance I have relatives here in the United States.

When I look at all those names on the census pages, it strikes me that each one was a person, with a life and a story. Now, only the name remains on paper. Everything else is lost in the mist of time.

It is a sobering thought to see my uncle, my grandfather, and my great-grandfather there in the records, all sharing the same name as me—Michael Barrett. They give me context. They give me meaning.

I am sure many who read this are carrying out their own research using the 1926 census, tracing their families, and learning more about where they came from and how they lived.

I have only followed one line so far. There are many more to explore, and it will take time.

If you have not had the chance yet, I hope my story encourages you to explore your own family roots in the 1926 census.

 

Dearcadh Trump agus Leo ag teacht glan salach ar a chéile

Trump and Leo in Direct Conflict

by | 2026/04/15 | Current Affairs, International News, Politics, Opinion

Trump and Leo in Direct Conflict

As Pope Leo XIV flew to Algeria on April 13, he was asked about the latest attack Donald Trump had made on him. The Pope said he had no fear of Trump and would continue to speak out against the war.

On April 7, Leo said Trump’s threat against Iran was “completely unacceptable” - extraordinarily direct words for a pope to use when speaking about a sitting American president. He said threats against civilian populations raised serious moral and legal questions, and he urged people to pressure governments to move towards peace. A few days later, at a prayer vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica, he again spoke of the “delusion of omnipotence” that feeds war and warned against using God’s name to bless violence. It was clear who and what he was referring to.

Trump’s reply came in his usual sharp, insulting style. He said Leo was “weak on crime” and “terrible on foreign policy”, and urged him to focus on being pope rather than acting like a politician. Then Trump crossed another line. He posted an AI-generated image of himself online in a pose that evoked Jesus, and later took it down after an angry public backlash. He said he had intended to portray himself as a doctor, not as Christ, but by then the damage had been done.

Leo did not raise the tension, though he responded wisely and firmly. He said his message was rooted in the Gospel, not in politics. He said the Church had a duty to speak for peace, dialogue and reconciliation. While in Algeria, he condemned “neocolonial” conflicts and violations of international law. The Pope made it clear that he had every right to speak on ethical and moral questions concerning war and peace.

This clash has been building for some time. Even before he was elected Pope, Robert Prevost criticised Trump’s politics, especially on the issue of immigration. In his first address as Pope to diplomats in May 2025, he said the dignity of immigrants had to be respected. In September 2025 he went even further, saying that someone who opposes abortion while accepting the “inhuman” treatment of immigrants cannot so easily claim to be “fully pro-life”.

The conflict between Trump and Leo has both political and spiritual significance. Trump succeeded in improving his standing among Catholic voters in the 2024 election. AP VoteCast found that 54% of Catholic voters voted for him, up from the near-even split in 2020. Trump attracts conservative Catholics because of the judges he appointed, his stance on abortion and his anti-liberal position. But Leo’s words on poverty, migration and peace compel every Catholic to look at their own political choices through the lens of their faith and the teachings of the Church.

There was also a strong backlash against Trump because of the fight he started with the Pope, both inside the Church and outside it. Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City said the Pope was not in political competition with Trump, but was the Vicar of Christ speaking from the Gospel. AP reported that many Catholics in America were upset by the President’s attack on the first American Pope. In Italy, even Giorgia Meloni, who is usually careful in what she says about Trump, called his remarks “unacceptable”. That was significant because Meloni is one of the European leaders closest to Trump’s outlook. When even she feels compelled to draw a line, it suggests Trump misread both the office he was attacking and the watching audience around the world.

What makes this conflict so striking is that both men are speaking to Americans, but from very different ideas of strength. We know Trump’s version well: dominance, mockery, force and refusal to yield. Leo’s version is almost the opposite: restraint, moral clarity, care for the weak and suspicion of the powerful. While Trump sees a pope criticising him directly, Leo sees Trump going against the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Pope Leo is not easy for Americans to dismiss. He is American. He speaks in clear moral language. And his standing is exceptionally strong among American Catholics: a Pew Research Center survey published in September 2025 showed that 84% of them viewed him favourably. That does not mean every Catholic will now turn against Trump. But it does mean Trump chose to start a fight with a figure whose moral authority extends far beyond Rome.

There are other warning signs too for the Trump administration. Reuters reported that public confidence in the U.S. economy is at a very low level, driven in part by inflation and rising petrol prices linked to the war in Iran. In Hungary, Viktor Orbán also discovered that strong outside backing cannot simply be taken for granted. Trump endorsed him. JD Vance travelled to Budapest to show support. Reuters also reported that Russian sources, or sources linked to Russia, were boosting pro-Orbán messages before the vote. Even so, Orbán lost heavily to Péter Magyar.

That leaves a real choice before Americans at the ballot box, especially Republican Catholics. Will they heed the Pope’s clear condemnation of war, harsh immigration policies and moral indifference, or will they continue to support policies that conflict with the values they claim to hold? The answer should become clearer after the U.S. midterm elections in November, and it could set the stage for significant long-term change in American politics.

 

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