In the US, House Speaker Mike Johnson has supported Donald Trump in his dispute with Pope Leo XIV and accused the Pope of “descending into politics”.
Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Johnson said: “A religious leader can say whatever he wants, but obviously if you get into political waters you have to expect some political reaction and I think the Pope has received some of that.
“To be honest, I was a little surprised when he said something about ‘Jesus doesn’t hear the prayers of people who go to war’ or something. There’s something called the ‘just war’ theory.”
Mr Trump launched another blistering social media attack on the Pope last night, opening another chapter in his war of words with the head of the Catholic Church.
Writing on Truth Social, he said: “Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed, protesters in the last two months, and that Iran having a nuclear bomb is absolutely unacceptable. Thank you for bringing attention to this matter.”
The ongoing feud also included the US President’s removal of an AI image depicting himself as Jesus Christ. The image shows Mr Trump clad in white robes with his hand shining on the forehead of a man lying on a bed.
It was later removed from the platform and Mr Trump claimed he never intended to compare himself to the Son of God. When asked about this, he said, “It is believed that as a doctor I will make people better.”
More updates to follow…
