Pope Leo Critics Call Out ‘Dancing Queen' Song at General Audience

Critics have called out Pope Leo XIV for playing ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” during this week’s general audience, with some asking if the song selection was “appropriate” for the venue.

The band at the Vatican played the song on Wednesday morning, along with "Mamma Mia" and Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" as Pope Leo stood in the back of a vehicle that drove him past crowds in Rome. He had just arrived back from his first international Apostolic Journey to Turkey and Lebanon.

"Is Dancing Queen an appropriate song for a General Papal Audience? Thoughts? (Lord, help me to hold my tongue…),” Raymond Arroyo, an American media figure known for his work in conservative media and Catholic broadcasting, wrote on X, sharing a clip from CatholicVote of the pope’s procession.

Newsweek reached out to the Vatican via email for comment.

Fox News host Laura Ingraham shared the same clip on X with the caption: "What is happening here? Is that music an AI joke?"

Anthony Stine, a traditionalist Catholic commentator, podcaster and writer, who has long been critical of modern reforms in the Church, said on X: "Abba’s DANCING QUEEN is being to welcome the pope back to Rome. Please someone confirm that its fake. I’m begging you."

Catholic political commentator and Democratic political strategist Christopher Hale also shared footage of the band playing Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" and called the response a "big scandal” on X.

“A big scandal is brewing at the Vatican today. Pope Leo XIV was serenaded by both Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline and ABBA's Dancing Queen on the same day,” Hale wrote, adding, “Things are getting a little too risqué under the American pope.”

Hale noted that the so-called “scandal” dates back to Pope Leo’s first Sunday Regina Caeli, when the Village People’s “YMCA”-coincidentally a favorite track of Leo’s adversary, President Donald Trump-played.

Film producer Nancy Ross, who described herself as a "MAGA MOM" and has a photo with President Donald Trump as her profile picture on X, is one of several people who criticized the "Dancing Queen" song for its link to the LGBTQ+ community.

Ross quoted a 2022 article from Xtra Magazine, a Canadian LGBTQ+ focused digital outlet, which called the song "the most iconic Pride anthem of all time."

"Dancing Queen, Pope Leo & PRIDE At The Vatican," Ross said.

However, the reaction wasn’t all negative; other X users celebrated the song choice, including the Catholic digital media outlet ChurcPOP, which showed footage on X of the band playing ABBA's "Mamma Mia” at the event, as well. "Only at the Vatican do you get papal blessings with a side of ABBA," the post said.

Marco Rubio Meets Pope Leo Amid Trump Feud

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Rome the next day to meet with Pope Leo at the Apostolic Palace, his official residence, amid weeks of tension between the pontiff and Trump over the United States’ war in Iran.

Pope Leo, the first American-born pope, has strongly condemned the war in the Middle East, and the “delusion of omnipotence” that caused it, saying it has led to “absurd and inhuman violence.”

Last month, when Trump wrote on social media that “an entire civilization will die tonight” if Iran failed to meet a U.S. deadline, Leo responded: “This is truly unacceptable.” Trump later posted a scathing attack on the pope in a post on Truth Social, calling him "weak on crime" and "terrible for foreign policy."

Earlier this week, Trump said the pontiff was “endangering” Catholics with his opposition to the war in Iran.

“The pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told Hugh Hewitt, a conservative radio host. “I don’t think that’s very good.”

Pope Leo responded, telling reporters: “If anyone wishes to criticize me for proclaiming the Gospel, let them do so with the truth. The Church has spoken out for years against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt about this, and I simply hope to be heard for the sake of the Word of God.”

In the aftermath, the Vatican has shared photos of Rubio and Pope Leo shaking hands and sitting across from one another at a table.

Rubio downplayed the rift between the pope and the Trump administration, telling a press briefing on Tuesday: "The trip is really not tied to anything other than the fact that it would be normal for us to engage with them.

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This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 6:59 AM.