Donald Trump has launched an unusual and scathing attack on Pope Leo over his opposition to US immigration policy and the war in Iran. The US president accused the pontiff of being WEAK on Crime and terrible for Foreign Policy in a Truth Social post, later telling reporters he was not a big fan.
Pope Leo has been a staunch critic of the war, calling Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilization unacceptable and urging him to find an off-ramp to end the conflict. He has also questioned whether Trump's hard-line immigration policy aligns with the Catholic Church's pro-life stance.
Trump's comments arrived as the pontiff began an 11-day trip to Africa, his second major foreign trip since assuming papacy last year. In his post, Trump stated that Pope Leo should get his act together and criticized him for being weak on nuclear weapons, referring to Iran's nuclear ambitions which have prompted military actions from the US and Israel.
Additionally, Trump suggested that Pope Leo was elected due to his American nationality, implying this was a strategy to deal with him when he was president: If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican.
When asked about his comments, Trump remarked: I don't think he's doing a very good job, he likes crime, I guess. He further claimed, He's a very liberal person, and he's a man who doesn't believe in stopping crime, he's a man who doesn't believe we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world.
The remarks drew immediate criticism from Catholics, with some experts likening them to historical attacks on the papacy by fascist dictators during World War Two. Massimo Faggioli, a prominent theologian, stated that not even Hitler or Mussolini attacked the Pope so directly and publicly.
The Pope has consistently used his public addresses to denounce global conflicts and advocate for de-escalation in the Middle East. In response to Trump's threats against Iran, Pope Leo had described the president's comments as truly unacceptable.
In his Easter address, he urged world leaders to choose peace over violence, calling for an end to the normalization of violence and indifference towards casualties of war.
Pope Leo has been a staunch critic of the war, calling Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilization unacceptable and urging him to find an off-ramp to end the conflict. He has also questioned whether Trump's hard-line immigration policy aligns with the Catholic Church's pro-life stance.
Trump's comments arrived as the pontiff began an 11-day trip to Africa, his second major foreign trip since assuming papacy last year. In his post, Trump stated that Pope Leo should get his act together and criticized him for being weak on nuclear weapons, referring to Iran's nuclear ambitions which have prompted military actions from the US and Israel.
Additionally, Trump suggested that Pope Leo was elected due to his American nationality, implying this was a strategy to deal with him when he was president: If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican.
When asked about his comments, Trump remarked: I don't think he's doing a very good job, he likes crime, I guess. He further claimed, He's a very liberal person, and he's a man who doesn't believe in stopping crime, he's a man who doesn't believe we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world.
The remarks drew immediate criticism from Catholics, with some experts likening them to historical attacks on the papacy by fascist dictators during World War Two. Massimo Faggioli, a prominent theologian, stated that not even Hitler or Mussolini attacked the Pope so directly and publicly.
The Pope has consistently used his public addresses to denounce global conflicts and advocate for de-escalation in the Middle East. In response to Trump's threats against Iran, Pope Leo had described the president's comments as truly unacceptable.
In his Easter address, he urged world leaders to choose peace over violence, calling for an end to the normalization of violence and indifference towards casualties of war.
