A pope in an aircraft aisle says three sentences the administration cannot absorb. A president posts through it, and posts again, and posts again. An Italian prime minister calls the attack unacceptable. The American bishops convert papal dignity into doctrinal substance. The Archbishop of Canterbury widens the frame beyond Rome. The Turning Point arena is half-empty. The war-powers clock points toward May 1. This is not merely a feud between a pope and a president. It is a fight over who gets to define Christian moral seriousness in wartime, and whether that right belongs finally to elected sovereigns or to universal churches. Eight sections. ~29,000 words. Time anchor April 17, 2026.

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