Pope Leo said he wasn’t looking to debate Donald Trump when he criticized “tyrants” for spending billions on wars in a speech earlier this week.
The pontiff said the remarks, delivered days after a high-profile spat with the US president, were written a fortnight earlier – “long before the president made any comments about myself”.
“And yet it was seen as me trying to debate the president again, which is not in my interest at all,” he told reporters aboard a flight to Angola on Saturday.
On Monday, Trump launched a scathing attack on America’s first pope – who has sharply criticized the US-Israeli military operation in Iran – calling it “terrible for foreign policy”.
The pope, who is touring Africa, said a “certain narrative that was not accurate” had developed, citing “the political situation created” by Trump’s comments.
In response to the pontiff’s latest remarks, US Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism as an adult, said he was “grateful to Pope Leo for saying that.”
“While the media narrative constantly stirs up conflict — and yes, real disagreements have happened and will happen — the reality is often much more complicated,” Vance added.
Earlier in the week – before the pope’s speech referring to “tyrants” – Vance had urged the Vatican to “stick to questions of morality.”
During the speech in Cameroon on Thursdaythe Pope criticized leaders who “turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are being spent on massacres and devastation, while the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found.”
“The masters of war pretend not to know that it only takes a moment to destroy, but often a lifetime is not enough to rebuild,” he said.
The pope also condemned “an endless cycle of destabilization and death” in a region of Cameroon “bloodied” and in the grip of an insurrection for almost a decade.
The remarks were interpreted by some as a reference to Trump – who later told reporters: “The pope can say whatever he wants, and I want him to say whatever he wants, but I can disagree.” »
He initially published his lengthy criticism of the head of the Catholic Church after the pontiff expressed concern over Trump’s threat that “an entire civilization will die” if Iran did not accept US demands to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz.
The president said he was “not a big fan” of the pope and called him “WEAK on crime and terrible on foreign policy.” Trump also posted an AI-generated image of himself looking like Jesus, which he later deleted.
The Catholic leader’s African tour includes stops in 11 cities across four countries. This is his second major foreign visit since his election to the papacy last year, and it reflects the importance of Catholicism in Africa.
More than a fifth of the world’s Catholics – some 288 million people – live in Africa, according to 2024 figures.