Pope Leo XIV hits again at Trump as US president launches recent rant on nuclear weapons
Donald Trump has launched a scathing attack on Pope Leo XIV, slamming the Catholic Church leader as ‘very liberal’ and claiming he ‘likes crime’ in a fiery row over nuclear weapons policy
Donald Trump has publicly criticised Pope Leo XIV(Image: Getty)
Just a few hours after criticising Pope Leo XIV on Truth Social, Donald Trump launched a fresh tirade against the head of the Catholic Church. Responding to a reporter’s question on Sunday evening about why he had criticised the pope, the US President didn’t hold back.
In a blistering critique, Trump stated he doesn’t believe the US-born pope is “doing a very good job”, before suggesting that “he likes crime I guess”. He went on to say: “We don’t like a pope who says it is ok to have a nuclear weapon. “We don’t want a pope that says crime is ok in our cities. I don’t like it.”
Wrapping up his diatribe, the 79-year-old declared: “I am not a big fan of Pope Leo. He is a very liberal person and he’s a man that doesn’t believe in stopping crime.”
“He’s a man that doesn’t think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so that they can blow up the world. I’m not a fan of Pope Leo.”
It was only a couple of hours earlier that Trump once again emphasised on Truth Social that he’s “not a fan of Pope Leo”, reports the Express.
In a savage rant, the US President claimed he doesn’t think the leader of the Catholic church was “doing a very good job” and that he was “a very liberal person”.
He described the 70 year old pope as being “weak on crime and terrible for Foreign Policy”.
The lengthy post added that “Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican” if he “wasn’t in the White House”. Trump said he prefers “his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn’t”.
During an evening peace vigil at St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on Saturday, Pope Leo XIV made a direct plea to global leaders to resume talks.
Heading the service, he declared: “Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life.”
Leo also cautioned against what he termed “that delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive”.
But Pope Leo XIV pushed back Monday against President Donald Trump’s broadside against him over the U.S.-Israel war in Iran, saying the Vatican’s appeals for peace and reconciliation are rooted in the Gospel, and that he didn’t fear the Trump administration.
“To put my message on the same plane as what the president has attempted to do here, I think is not understanding what the message of the Gospel is,” Leo told The Associated Press aboard the papal plane.
“And I’m sorry to hear that but I will continue on what I believe is the mission of the church in the world today.”
History’s first U.S.-born pope stressed that he was not making a direct attack against Trump or anyone else with his general appeal for peace and criticisms of the “delusion of omnipotence” that is fueling the Iran wars and other conflicts around the world.Leo – who is scheduled to leave Monday for an 11-day trip to Africa – has previously said that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.” He’s also referenced an Old Testament passage from Isaiah, saying that “even though you make many prayers, I will not listen – your hands are full of blood.”
Before the ceasefire, when Trump warned of mass strikes against Iranian power plants and other infrastructure and that “an entire civilization will die tonight,” Leo described such sentiments as “truly unacceptable.”
