What is the full original source and context of the quote attributed to Pope Leo about not following both Christ and the cruelty of kings?

1. Viral origin: a meme, not a speech

The earliest public traces reporters and fact-checkers found were social-media posts and a Threads entry on May 14, 2025; searches for the exact wording returned only user-generated graphics and reposts rather than an official address or homily by Pope Leo XIV ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Snopes’ May 19 and June 15, 2025, pieces report no contemporaneous Vatican transcript, press release, or media recording that contains the sentence ^{[1] [2]}.

2. What the fact-checks actually say

Independent fact-checkers — notably Snopes — state there is no evidence Pope Leo XIV publicly uttered that quote and that Google searches for the phrase turned up only social sharing of the graphic, not primary-source material ^{[1] [2]}. Yahoo-hosted fact-check summaries repeated the same finding: the line circulated widely but lacks verifiable origin in papal speeches or on vatican.va ^{[4] [3]}.

3. The Vatican’s role and official record-keeping

Fact-checkers noted that the Vatican directs readers to vatican.va for authoritative texts of papal speeches, and they reported there was no matching text there for this quote ^{[2] [3]}. Available sources do not mention any response from the Holy See Press Office directly confirming the quote; Snopes said they reached out to the press office but had not received verification as of their reporting ^{[1] [2]}.

4. Why the claim spread: politics, resonance and format

The line’s moral contrast between “Christ” and “cruelty of kings” made it easily repurposable as a political rebuke; some users framed it as an implicit criticism of contemporary political figures, increasing its shareability ^[4]. Fact-checking coverage highlights that concise, morally framed sentences are prime candidates to become viral quote-graphics even when they lack provenance ^[2].

5. Countervailing signals: continued circulation and confusion

Despite debunks, the phrase continued to reappear across platforms and was reshared in multiple large Facebook posts and Threads threads, at times garnering tens or even hundreds of thousands of reactions, according to later summaries ^{[2] [5] [6]}. That popular traction helps explain why variants and attributions persisted even after fact-checks published.

6. Alternative explanations and limits of current reporting

Reporters and fact-checkers did not identify an earlier source such as a historical text, sermon by another cleric, or a draft translation that could explain the line’s wording; searches turned up only modern reposts ^{[1] [2]}. Available sources do not mention any archival discovery or a verifiable audio/video clip matching the quote; therefore the exact origin remains unknown in current reporting ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

7. How to verify similar papal quotations going forward

Fact-checkers advise consulting official Vatican publications (vatican.va) and press-office releases for full texts of speeches and homilies; social graphics lacking sourcing should be treated skeptically until cross-checked against primary records ^{[2] [3]}. Snopes’ method — tracing earliest posts, querying the Vatican, and searching official transcripts — provides a model for verification ^[1].

8. Bottom line and broader context

The available fact-checking record is clear: the sentence “You cannot follow both Christ and the cruelty of kings” lacks evidence tying it to any verified remark by Pope Leo XIV and appears to have been a viral fabrication spread via social media ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Readers should treat the attribution as unproven and rely on primary Vatican texts for authoritative papal quotations ^[2].