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Pope Leo XIV said on Saturday that it is “not in my interest at all” to debate U.S. President Donald Trump about the Iran war but that he would continue preaching peace.
Leo spoke to reporters aboard the papal plane flying from Cameroon to Angola on the sixth day of his 11-day, four-country visit to Africa.
He addressed the spiralling back-and-forth saga of Trump’s critiques of his peace message, which have dominated news headlines this week. But the Pope also sought to set the record straight, insisting that his preaching isn’t directed at Trump but reflects the broader Gospel message of peace.
“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,” he said.
“Much of what has been written since then has been more commentary on commentary, trying to interpret what has been said.”
U.S. President Donald Trump is facing backlash from politicians and Christians after engaging in a war of words with the Pope over the war in Iran and posting a now deleted AI-generated image depicting him as a Jesus-like figure.
Trump launched the criticism on his social media platform Truth Social on the night of April 12, when he criticized Leo’s preaching about peace as the war in Iran — launched by Israel and the U.S. on Feb. 28 — rages on.
Trump accused Leo of being soft on crime and cosy with the left, and said the first American pontiff owed his election to Trump.
Leo has issued consistent calls for peace and dialogue, and he has denounced the use of religious justification for war. Specifically, he called Trump’s threat to annihilate Iranian civilization “truly unacceptable.”
The Vatican has stressed that when Leo preaches about peace, he is referring to all wars ravaging the planet, not just the Iran conflict. The Russian Orthodox Church, for example, has justified Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine as a “holy war.”
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Leo referred specifically to his remarks earlier this week to a peace meeting in Bamenda, Cameroon. The city is the epicentre of a separatist conflict that has been raging in the western, anglophone region of the country for nearly a decade.
Leo said that his remarks, in which he blasted the “handful of tyrants” who were ravaging Earth with war and exploitation, were written two weeks ago, long before Trump’s criticisms began.
U.S. President Donald Trump has defended his criticism of Pope Leo’s stance on the war in Iran, saying, ‘I have a right to disagree.’ Rev. Michael Coren says it is ‘unprecedented’ to see a pope and president at odds over an issue to this extent.
“And yet as it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate again the president, which is not in my interest at all,” he said.
Looking ahead, however, the Pope said that he would continue preaching the Gospel.
“I primarily come to Africa as a pastor, as the head of the Catholic Church to be with, to celebrate with, to encourage and accompany all the Catholics throughout Africa,” he said.
Leo drew attention to some upcoming liturgical readings about what it means to be Christian and to follow Christ, promote fraternity and brotherhood, “but also looking for ways to promote justice in our world, promote peace in our world.”
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