Trump Criticizes Pope Leo XIV Over War Comments; Pontiff Responds

Pope Leo XIV has continued his four-country African tour, arriving in Yaounde, Cameroon, on Wednesday and scheduled to travel to the country's conflict-hit anglophone region on Thursday for a peace meeting. During his visit to Cameroon, the Pontiff issued unusually forceful comments, criticizing leaders who spend billions on wars and stating the world is “being ravaged by a handful of tyrants.” He also condemned those who have manipulated “the very name of God” for their own gain. Meanwhile, Trump’s criticisms of the Pope have reportedly caused dismay in Africa, a continent home to over a fifth of the world’s Catholics. The Pope has avoided responding to Trump directly since his comments to Reuters on Monday.

Donald Trump further elaborated on his criticism of Pope Leo XIV, stating the Pontiff “doesn’t understand Iran’s nuclear threat” and therefore “shouldn’t be talking about war.” These remarks were made in a Tuesday phone interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. During this interview, Trump also criticized Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, calling her “unacceptable” for her disapproval of his comments about the Pope and suggesting she is indifferent to Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. Separately, in a series of Truth Social posts, Trump reiterated his concern about Iran developing a nuclear bomb and claimed Iran has killed “at least 42,000” protesters in the past two months. His Truth Social posts also included renewed criticism of NATO, asserting the alliance “wasn’t there for us, and they won’t be there for us in the future.”

Pope Leo XIV, identified as the first U.S. pope, made further comments to Reuters on Monday while aboard his flight to Algiers, where he is commencing a 10-day tour to four African countries. He reiterated his intention to continue speaking out against war and stated that he does not wish to engage in a debate with Donald Trump. The Pontiff also remarked that the "Christian message was being abused" and that the "message of the Gospel is not meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing."