Fox News' Sean Hannity declares he's no longer a Catholic as he sides with Trump in Pope fallout
Fox News' Sean Hannity declares he's no longer a Catholic as he sides with Trump in Pope fallout
Sean Hannity© Getty Images
Sean Hannity made a bold declaration this week about his religion.
Fox News aired the latest installment of Hannity on April 16. The host spoke about the fallout between President Donald Trump, 79, and Pope Leo XIV, 70. The Head of the Catholic Church spoke up against President Trump and denounced his ongoing war against Iran. It comes after Trump made a disturbing sex comment on stage that silenced the audience.
Although the pope has opposed Trump's war, he has not shown support for the country in the Middle East to have nuclear weapons, as the president had suggested. This comes as the pontiff attacked the tyrants "who are spending billions on killing" amid his feud with President Trump.
Hannity announced he has picked a side between the pope and the president. He said, “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."
Ahead of the broadcast, President Trump spoke to reporters outside the White House and said, "I have to do what's right."
Sean Hannity© Reach Publishing Services Limited
"I'm not fighting with him. The pope made a statement, he says Iran can have a nuclear weapon, I say Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
"I can disagree with the pope. I have a right to disagree with the pope," he continued.
Donald Trump© Reach Publishing Services Limited
On the same day, Pope Leo delivered a scathing address and declared, "The masters of war pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy, yet often a lifetime is not enough to rebuild. They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found."
During the broadcast, Hannity also said, "I do want to shift gears for a moment with a message to the Vatican.
"Specifically to Pope Leo, who has openly condemned America's war in Iran, while seemingly enjoying a public fight with President Trump. Let me give some context. I went to Catholic school for 12 years. I even attended a seminary in high school, and studied theology, Latin, and went to mass daily.
Pope Leo XIV gestures during a visit at the Maqam Echahid Martyrs' Monument in El Madania, near Algiers on April 13, 2026. Pope Leo XIV embarks today on an 11-day visit to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea for his first major international trip since becoming pontiff last year© Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / POOL / AFP via Getty Images
"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," Hannity closed. "Others at the Vatican have totally lost sight of the true meaning of the bible and its teachings."
Before the broadcast, Trump wrote Truth Social on April 13, "I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country."
Clarence Thomas Blasts Supreme Court For Refusing Florida Case
Florida argued the two states were undermining public safety by allowing individuals without legal immigration status — and, in some cases, insufficient English-language proficiency — to obtain commercial trucking licenses despite federal standards intended to govern interstate transportation safety.
The dispute gained national attention after a deadly 2025 crash on the Florida Turnpike involving an undocumented truck driver reportedly licensed through California or Washington.
According to the lawsuit, the driver allegedly made an illegal U-turn and was unable to properly interpret roadway signage, resulting in a collision that killed three people.
Joined by Justice Samuel Alito, Thomas argued the high court had a constitutional obligation to hear the interstate dispute because Florida had no other legal forum available to challenge another state’s policies.
The court’s majority denied Florida’s request without explanation.
The case underscores the growing national clash over immigration enforcement, state licensing authority, and whether states with looser immigration policies are creating broader public safety consequences for the rest of the country.
Thomas ripped the majority for refusing to hear the lawsuit since disputes between states can only be brought before the Supreme Court.
“If this Court does not exercise jurisdiction over a controversy between two States, then the complaining State has no judicial forum in which to seek relief,” Thomas wrote.
Thomas argued that Florida’s allegations against California and Washington raised serious public safety concerns, warning that failures to properly follow federal commercial driver licensing (CDL) laws can create dangerous conditions on American roadways.
Thomas pointed to the fatal Florida highway crash involving truck driver Harjinder Singh, who he said “could not read the road signs,” and argued Florida deserved a chance to pursue its claims.
Two blue states – California and Washington – issued Singh a CDL.
“An illegal alien who cannot read English road signs cannot drive an 80,000-pound tractor-trailer,” Thomas wrote.
“Federal law and regulations prohibit States from providing commercial driver’s licenses to applicants unless they pass a driver’s test, sufficiently understand the English language, and show appropriate immigration status,” he added.
Thomas argued that while the Supreme Court of the United States may have broad discretion when deciding whether to hear ordinary appeals, disputes between states occupy a different category because the Constitution grants the high court exclusive jurisdiction over those cases.
“We have no more right to decline the exercise of jurisdiction which is given, than to usurp that which is not given,” Thomas wrote.
He also accused the court of failing to follow the Constitution by refusing to hear disputes between states.
“This Court has adopted a discretionary approach to its exclusive original jurisdiction based on policy judgments that are in conflict with the policy choices that Congress made in the statutory text,” Thomas wrote.
Thomas argued that if Florida, California, and Washington were separate sovereign nations rather than American states, a dispute involving one government allegedly allowing unsafe drivers into another jurisdiction could trigger major diplomatic conflict.
Thomas suggested that in an international context, such disputes would likely be addressed through international courts, treaties, or direct government action.
“By entering the Union, States agree to instead have such disputes resolved by this Court,” he wrote.
The issuance of commercial driver’s licenses to non-citizens came under increased scrutiny from the Department of Transportation last summer following a series of deadly crashes involving undocumented immigrant truck drivers.
Last September, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced stricter federal requirements for non-citizens seeking commercial driver’s licenses, part of a broader push by the Trump administration to tighten transportation and immigration enforcement standards, Fox News reported.
Duffy also warned that California could risk losing federal transportation funding if the state continued allowing commercial licenses to remain active for individuals deemed ineligible under revised federal guidelines.
