Pope Leo responds to Trump's criticism, saying he has 'no fear' of US administration
ALGIERS and LONDON -- Pope Leo XIV on Monday responded to criticism from President Donald Trump, telling reporters while traveling to Algeria that he has "no fear" of the White House.
"I have no fear of the Trump administration, nor speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel," the pontiff said on Monday, as he began a dayslong visit to four African nations. "That's what I believe in. I am called to do what the church is called to do."
The pope on Saturday called for an end to conflict, without explicitly mentioning the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. "Enough of war," Leo said during a peace vigil in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.
The pope also suggested "delusion of omnipotence" is fueling the U.S.-Israel war in Iran, imploring the country leaders to come to a peace agreement.
Trump on Sunday night posted on social media, calling the pope "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy."
"I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon," Trump said in his post.
On Monday, Trump said he has no plans to apologize to Pope Leo after one of his closest Catholic allies, Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota, urged him to do so.
"No ... because Pope Leo said things that are wrong," Trump said when asked about an apology. "He was very much against what I'm doing with regard to Iran. And you cannot have a nuclear Iran. Pope Leo would not be happy with the end result. You['d] have hundreds of millions of people dead, and it's not going to happen."
Trump also said he posted an AI-generated photo on his social media platform depicting himself as a Christ-like figure. The image was later taken down.
"It was me. I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor that had to do with Red Cross -- as a Red Cross worker, which we support," said Trump, who blamed the media for the backlash over the coverage of the post. "So, I just heard about it, and I said, 'How did they come up with that?' It's supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better, and I do make people better and make people a lot better."
The pope, who was born in Chicago and is the first American to lead the Catholic Church, was elevated to his position in May 2025, a few months into Trump's second term. The president at that time congratulated Leo, saying on social media that it was "such an honor" for an American to become pope.
The pontiff has voiced concern about several armed conflicts, repeatedly calling for peace, including mentioning the civil war raging in Sudan, the Russia-Ukraine war and the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. He has called for peace in Iran and the broader Middle East since the beginning of the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.
The pontiff has been a strong messenger for global peace since the start of his papacy last May.
He has repeatedly called for the parties involved to engage in negotiations, including saying on March 1 that he was making "a heartfelt appeal to all the parties involved to assume the moral responsibility of halting the spiral of violence before it becomes an unbridgeable chasm." He has said that "God does not bless any conflict."
Leo said on Monday that his comments "are certainly not meant as attacks on anyone and the message of the Gospel is very clear, 'Blessed are the peacemakers.'"
"I will not shy away from pronouncing the message of the Gospel, of inviting all people to look for ways of building bridges for peace and reconciliation, of looking for ways to avoid war any time that's possible," Leo continued. "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."
Trump early on Monday had called for the pope to focus on "being a Great Pope, not a Politician."
"It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church!" Trump wrote on his social media network.
Responding to a question from reporters hours later, Leo said of the apparent tensions with Trump, "I do not look at my role as being political ... I don't want to get into a debate with him. I don't think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing."
"I will continue to speak out loud against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue, multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems," he said. "Too many people are suffering in the world today. Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say, 'There's a better way to do this.'"
