Pope Leo XIV has hit back at Donald Trump after the president launched a scathing attack on him over his opposition to the Iran war.
On Sunday night, Trump took aim at the American-born pontiff, claiming he was “weak” and “soft on crime.”
In a post on Truth Social, the president said the leader of the Catholic Church was not “doing a very good job” and that he was “a very liberal person.”
He later echoed these comments to reporters fter flying back from Washington to Florida.
Speaking on the tarmac, he said: “We don’t like a pope who says it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon.”
This came after Pope Leo had suggested over the weekend that the US and Israel’s war in Iran was being caused by a “delusion of omnipotence.”
Now, Leo has hit back, saying he will not stop speaking out against war and has “no fear” of the Trump administration.
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Speaking to reporters aboard the papal flight to Algiers, the pope said: “I have no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly of the message of the gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do.
Leo said he did not want to “get into a debate” with Trump, adding: “I don’t think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing.”
He continued: “I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems,” he said.
Leo went on to say that “too many innocent people are being killed,” and that “someone has to stand up and say there’s a better way.”
“I do not look at my role as being political, a politician,” he added.