Pope says he has 'no fear' of Trump after scathing criticism
Trump accused the pontiff of being "WEAK on Crime and terrible for Foreign Policy" in a Truth Social post, later telling reporters he was "not a big fan".
Pope Leo XIV today (13 April) has said he has "no fear" of the Trump administration and will continue to speak out against war after the US president launched an unusual and scathing attack over his stance on the Iran conflict, reports BBC.
"I am not a politician," the pope told reporters aboard the papal plane as they headed to Algeria for the pontiff's first visit to Africa, according to AFP.
Donald Trump accused the pontiff of being "WEAK on Crime and terrible for Foreign Policy" in a Truth Social post, later telling reporters he was "not a big fan".
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In response, Pope Leo said, "I have no intention to debate with [Trump]. The message is the same: to promote peace."
Pope told reporters that he did not want to get into a debate with Trump but would continue to promote peace.
He has been a strong critic of the Iran conflict, describing Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilisation as "unacceptable" and urging him to seek an "off-ramp" to de-escalate and end the war.
It is generally uncommon for a pope to respond so directly to statements made by global political leaders.
There are over 70 million Catholics in the United States, roughly around 20% of the population, including Trump's Vice-President JD Vance.
Trump's comments were made as the pontiff began an 11-day visit to Africa, his second major overseas trip since his election last year.
In a post yesterday (12 April), the US president said the Pope "should get his act together" and accused him of being "weak on nuclear weapons", apparently referring to Iran's nuclear ambitions, which have been cited as one of the factors behind the US and Israel's war with Iran.
He also implied that the Pope was elected "because he was American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J Trump".
"If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican."
When asked by journalists to clarify his remarks, he later added, "I don't think he's doing a very good job, he likes crime, I guess."
Trump further said, "He's a very liberal person, and he's someone who doesn't believe in stopping crime, he's a man who doesn't believe we should be messing with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world."
His comments also triggered criticism from Catholics globally, with one expert likening the remarks to the Pope's relations with fascist leaders during the Second World War.
"Not even Hitler or Mussolini attacked the Pope so directly and publicly," Massimo Faggioli told Reuters.
The Pope has repeatedly used public speeches to condemn ongoing global conflicts and call for de-escalation in the Middle East.
When Trump warned Iran that "a whole civilisation will die tonight", the Pope responded by calling the statement "truly unacceptable".
He has also criticised Trump's strict immigration stance, questioning whether one can be "pro-life" while supporting what he described as the "inhuman treatment of immigrants".
Pope Leo is widely viewed as continuing the humanitarian approach of his predecessor Pope Francis, who during the 2016 campaign said Trump was "not Christian" due to his anti-immigrant rhetoric. Trump, in response, called the late Pope "disgraceful".
