Pope Leo on Tuesday rejected claims that he supports nuclear weapons, responding to criticism from Donald Trump over his stance on the Iran war.
Speaking to reporters after leaving his retreat at Castell Gandolfo near Rome, the pontiff said: “The mission of the Church is to preach the Gospel, to preach peace.”
He also urged honesty in public debate, and said: “If anyone wants to criticize me for preaching the gospel, let them do so with the truth: The Church has spoken against all nuclear weapons for years, no doubt about that. I just hope I will be heard because of the value of God’s Word.”
Earlier, Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt: “The Pope would love to talk about the fact that it’s OK for Iran to have nuclear weapons, and I don’t think that’s very good.”
“I think he’s putting a lot of Catholics and a lot of people in danger. But I think it’s up to the Pope if he thinks it’s OK for Iran to have nuclear weapons.”
The comments come ahead of a planned meeting between Leo and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican, aimed at reducing tensions between Washington and the Catholic Church.
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