Were Leo XIV’s remarks at peace vigil meant for Trump?

Pope Leo XIV’s remarks during a prayer vigil on Saturday evening in St. Peter’s Basilica are already being framed as part of a contest between the pontiff and the U.S. President, who happen to be the two most influential Americans on the planet, the embodiment of soft power and hard power respectively.

It is a tempting storytelling frame, and it isn’t entirely wrong. It only captures a little of the content and the import of the pope’s remarks, however, which invoked several of his modern...