Fox News host Sean Hannity, 64, renounced his Catholic faith live on air on April 16, declaring himself simply a Christian after siding with President Donald Trump in a widening feud with Pope Leo XIV over America’s ongoing military campaign against Iran. Hannity, who attended Catholic school for twelve years and spent time at a seminary, said he left the Church years ago over what he described as institutionalized corruption — but chose this moment to make his departure public.
What Hannity said on air
Addressing viewers directly, Hannity framed his announcement as a response to the pope’s condemnation of Trump’s Iran war while remaining silent — in Hannity’s view — on Iran’s human rights record. He accused the regime of murdering tens of thousands of protesters, oppressing women, supporting terrorism across the region, and targeting Israel with strikes on civilian areas.
“As of today, I no longer consider myself a Catholic. I am a Christian. Where are the pointed words for Iran? This evil regime. The number one state sponsor of terror. The people that murdered 40,000–45,000 innocent protestors. Not a peep from Pope Leo.”
— Sean Hannity, Fox News, April 16, 2026
Hannity also cited longstanding grievances with the institutional Church, saying the scandals and what he called terrible behaviors had never been fully corrected at the parish level, bishop level, or in Rome. He stopped short of naming specific incidents but said the corruption was widespread and unchecked.
“While I am a Christian, I left the Catholic church in large part because of institutionalized corruption. It was at the parish level, to the bishop level, all the way to Rome. Others at the Vatican have totally lost sight of the true meaning of the Bible and its teachings.”
— Sean Hannity, Fox News, April 16, 2026
The Trump–Pope Leo feud
The confrontation has escalated rapidly over the past week. Pope Leo XIV, the American-born pontiff who took office earlier this year, delivered a public address condemning those he described as masters of war who spend billions on killing while denying resources for healing and education — a statement widely interpreted as aimed directly at the Trump administration’s Iran campaign.
Trump responded by insisting he had every right to disagree with the pope, telling reporters outside the White House: “The pope made a statement. He says Iran can have a nuclear weapon. I say Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.” He later posted on Truth Social that the pontiff was weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy.
“I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do.”
— Pope Leo XIV, Vatican Press Conference, April 20, 2026
How the dispute unfolded
Trump posted that he did not want a pope who thinks it is terrible that America attacked Venezuela, and complained about a previous pope for opposing U.S. immigration policy. He signaled opposition to any pontiff critical of his foreign policy agenda.
Pope Leo delivered a forceful public address condemning leaders who spend billions on killing and devastation while neglecting resources for healing, education and restoration — widely understood as a direct rebuke of Trump's Iran campaign.
Hannity announced on air that he no longer considered himself Catholic, citing the pope's silence on Iran's human rights record and what he described as decades of institutionalized corruption within the Church. He declared himself simply a Christian.
Trump escalated his attack on the pontiff, writing that Pope Leo is weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy, and accused the Church of having been complicit in COVID-era restrictions on worship services.
The pope responded directly, telling reporters he had no fear of the Trump administration and that he would continue speaking loudly the message of the Gospel.
Context: Iran, nuclear weapons, and the war
At the center of the dispute is a disagreement over Iran’s nuclear program. Trump has drawn a hard line against allowing Iran to develop nuclear weapons and has framed the military campaign as a necessary response to the regime’s decades of sponsoring terrorism. The pope, while not endorsing Iran’s nuclear ambitions, has focused his criticism on the human and financial cost of the war, calling for diplomacy and restraint.
Hannity argued that the pope’s failure to call out Iran by name — including the regime’s targeting of Israeli civilians, its treatment of women, its executions of protesters, and its backing of armed groups in Iraq and Lebanon — amounts to a moral failure. He said the pope’s judgment appeared clouded on the question of who is actually causing harm.