Pope Leo has said it was “not in my interest at all” to get into a debate with President Donald Trump about the United States war with Iran, and he would continue to preach the gospel.
Leo told The Associated Press on Saturday, April 18, “There’s been a certain narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects, but because of the political situation created when, on the first day of the trip, the president of the United States made some comments about myself.”
“Much of what has been written since then has been more commentary on commentary, trying to interpret what has been said,” he added as he traveled to Angola during his 11-day African tour, Independent reported.
Leo was addressing this past week’s Truth Social messages from Trump where he attacked the American-born pope as “WEAK", accused him of "catering to the Radical Left" on crime and falsely claimed the Catholic leader wants a nuclear-armed Iran.
“I don’t think he’s doing a very good job. I’m not a fan of Pope Leo," Trump said.
Leo has issued consistent calls for peace and dialogue, and denounced the use of religious justification for war.
He also called Trump’s threat to annihilate Iranian civilization “truly unacceptable” and said he is not afraid of the Trump administration.
The pontiff also pushed back against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after he called on Americans to pray for US victory in Iran "in the name of Jesus Christ."
