President Trump lashed out at Pope Leo XIV in a lengthy social media post Sunday night, calling the pontiff “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.”
Leo has been critical of the war in Iran and has previously made statements at odds with other priorities of the Trump administration, such as the ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration.
“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country,” Mr. Trump wrote.
Mr. Trump’s post criticizing the pope came just a short time after “60 Minutes” aired a story discussing the pontiff’s statements and influence with three American cardinals who know him well. Mr. Trump later confirmed to CBS News senior correspondent Norah O’Donnell that he had watched the show, and that he believes the pontiff is “wrong on the issues.”
Leo previously called Mr. Trump’s threat to completely destroy Iranian civilization “truly unacceptable,” and encouraged people to “contact the authorities — political leaders, congressmen — to ask them, tell them to work for peace and to reject war, always.”
Pope Leo addressed Mr. Trump’s latest comments Monday on a flight to Algeria to begin an 11-day trip to Africa.
“The things that I say are certainly not meant as attacks on anyone, and the message of the Gospel is very clear: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers,’” the pontiff said.
He continued, “I will not shy away from announcing 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 anytime that’s possible. 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 with what I believe is the mission of the church in the world.”
He also said, “I have no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the church is here to do. We are not politicians, we don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, but I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker. “