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Pope Leo XIV said he has “no fear of the Trump administration” and will continue speaking out against war after U.S. President Donald Trump sharply criticized the pontiff’s comments on Iran and accused him of being weak on crime and foreign policy.
“I will not enter into debate. The things I say are not meant as attacks on anyone,” Pope Leo told reporters on the papal plane, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). “I am inviting all people to look for ways of building bridges of peace and reconciliation, of looking for ways to avoid war any time that’s possible.”
The pope said he would continue what he called the mission of the Church in the world today.
“I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the church is here to do. We are not politicians; we don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective (as) he might understand it. But I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker,” he said.
Leo said he did not want to directly engage in a debate with Trump, even after the U.S. president intensified his criticism in public remarks and on social media.
Pope Leo told reporters he did not want to “get into a debate” with Trump.
“I don’t think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing,” he said.
He added that he would continue speaking out against war and in favor of peace.
“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.
Trump’s comments came after Pope Leo, the first American pope, became increasingly vocal about the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran. Last week, the pontiff condemned Trump’s rhetoric and threats against the people of Iran as “truly unacceptable.”
Trump responded with a series of attacks, including a Truth Social post in which he called the pope “WEAK on crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”
“If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican,” Trump wrote.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday evening before the pope’s departure for Africa, Trump also said he was “not a fan of Pope Leo.”
“We don’t like a pope that’s going to say that it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon. … He’s a man that doesn’t think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world,” Trump said.
At Joint Base Andrews, Trump repeated his criticism, saying, “I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo,” and describing him as “a very liberal person” who “doesn’t believe in stopping crime.”
In his Truth Social post, Trump argued that the Catholic leader was focused on “fear” of his administration while ignoring what he described as the persecution of religious figures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He also claimed the pope’s election was shaped by the Church’s effort to manage relations with his presidency.
“He wasn’t on any list to be pope and was only put there by the Church because he was an American,” Trump wrote, adding that without his time in office, Leo “wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”
Trump linked his criticism directly to Iran, saying he did not want “a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” and accused the pontiff of taking a soft stance on countries he views as threats.
He also criticized U.S. policy debates linked to Venezuela, claiming the country had “emptied their prisons” into the United States, while portraying the pope as out of step with security concerns.
In the Vatican’s first response to Trump’s criticism, Fr Antonio Spadaro said the U.S. president was targeting “a moral voice” as Leo prepared to begin a 10-day trip to four African countries.
Writing on X, Spadaro said Trump was attacking the pope because he “cannot contain it.”
“Trump doesn’t debate Leo; he begs him to retreat into a language that he can dominate. But the Pope speaks another language, one that refuses to be reduced to the grammar of force, of security, of national interest,” Spadaro said.
The Vatican response came as the clash between the pope and the U.S. president intensified over war, peace and Iran.
The dispute unfolded as Pope Leo prepared to begin a 10-day trip to four African countries. He is set to become the first pope to visit Algeria, a Muslim-majority country, before traveling to Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.
The pope’s latest remarks on the papal plane made clear that he does not intend to retreat from speaking publicly about war and peace despite Trump’s criticism.
Instead, Leo said he would continue to speak in what he described as the message of the Gospel and continue promoting peace, dialogue and reconciliation.
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