Donald Trump claimed Pope Leo was not doing a good job after the Pope denounced the ‘delusion of omnipotence’ that is fuelling the US-Israel war in Iran
Pope Leo says he will continue to speak out against the Iran war after Donald Trump claimed he wasn’t doing a good job.
The head of the Catholic Church said the Vatican’s appeals for peace and reconciliation are rooted in the Gospel, and that he didn’t fear the Trump administration.
It followed Donald Trump taking aim at the Pope over his claim that the war in Iran is being fuelled by “delusion of omnipotence”. The Pope also called on political leaders to seek peace.
The US president also said on Truth Social that the Pope was “WEAK on crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy”. He even claimed: “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”
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And Leo has now responded to the criticism by Trump. Speaking to reporters on board the papal plane, he said: “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.
“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 US-born pope stressed that he was not making a direct attack against Trump or anyone else with his general appeal for peace and conflicts around the world.
Trump delivered an extraordinary broadside against the Pope on Sunday night, saying he didn’t think the U.S.-born global leader of the Catholic Church is “doing a very good job” and that “he’s a very liberal person” – while also suggesting the pontiff should “stop catering to the Radical Left”.
Flying back to Washington from Florida, Trump used a lengthy social media post to sharply criticise Leo, then kept it up after getting off the plane and speaking to reporters where he said: “I’m not a fan of Pope Leo.” He continued: “We don’t like a pope who says it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon.”
Later, Trump posted a picture suggesting he had saint-like powers akin to those of Jesus Christ. Wearing a biblical-style robe, Trump is seen laying hands on a bedridden man as light emanates from his fingers, while a soldier, a nurse, a praying woman and a bearded man in a baseball cap all look on admiringly. The sky above is filled with eagles, an American flag and vaporous images.
All of that came after Leo presided over an evening prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday, the same day the United States and Iran began face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan during a fragile ceasefire. The Pope didn’t mention the United States or Trump by name, but his tone and message appeared directed at Trump and US officials, who have boasted of US military superiority and justified the war in religious terms.