Pope Leo has given a strong reaction after Donald Trump fiercely criticized the head of the Catholic Church in a Truth Social post.
Speaking to X on Sunday, the US president condemned Pope Leo XIV for his stance on the Iran war and being “weak on crime and terrible at foreign policy”, and said he was not a “big fan of the Pope”.
“We don’t like a Pope who says it’s OK to have nuclear weapons… He’s a guy who doesn’t think we should mess with a country that wants nuclear weapons so they can blow up the world,” Trump told reporters.
In response, the Pope told reporters on his way to Algeria that he was not afraid of Trump and did not want to get into a debate with the President.
He told reporters, “I have no fear of the Trump administration, or no fear of speaking the gospel message out loud, I believe in what I’m here to do, what the church is here to do.”
“I don’t want to get into a debate with (Trump),” he said, adding that his role is very different from that of politicians; He is responsible for spreading the message of peace.
Pope Leo also stressed that the world is burning with too much conflict and people are suffering too much. After all, a lot of people are being killed, losing their innocent lives.
“And I think someone has to stand up and say: There’s a better way to do this,” he said.
Continuing the humanitarian legacy of his predecessor, Pope Leo has challenged Trump’s harsh immigration policies. According to the head of the Catholic Church, Trump’s threat to destroy an entire civilization regarding Iran is extremely unacceptable.
Trump’s sharp attack on the pontiff was criticized by Catholics around the world. According to Italian historian Massimo Fagioli, quoted by Reuters, “Neither Hitler nor Mussolini attacked the Pope so directly and publicly.”
