Pope Leo XIV Says He Is Not Afraid to Speak Out as Trump Doubles Down on Criticism

Giorgia Meloni called Trump’s attack on Pope Leo XIV “unacceptable,” as the pontiff said he has “no fear” of the Trump administration and insisted his role is to be a “peacemaker.” Make us preferred on Google Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied (COMBO) This combination of file pictures created on April 13, 2026 shows Pope Leo XIV speaking during the doxology at the Patriarchal Church of Saint George, in Istanbul on November 29, 2025 (L) and US President Donald Trump speaking during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on March 3, 2026 (R). Pope Leo XIV said on April 13, 2026 that he had "a moral duty" to speak out against war and didn't "fear" US President Donald Trump after the US leader criticised his calls for an end to the conflict in the Middle East. Before taking off from Rome headed to Algiers for a papal visit, the pontiff came under fire from Trump, who railed against Leo's recent comments calling for peace with the Middle East grappling with the war triggered by a joint Israel-US attack on Iran in late February. (Photo by Ozan KOSE and ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) Content Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied Flip Make us preferred on Google US President Donald Trump on Monday refused to apologize and doubled down his criticism of Pope Leo XIV after the pontiff called for an end to violence in the Iran war. “There’s nothing to apologize for. He’s wrong,” Trump told reporters, a day after he attacked the US-born pope on social media and in public remarks. Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official . Trump said Pope Leo had taken the wrong position on Iran and defended his own policy approach. “Pope Leo said things that are wrong. He was very much against what I’m doing with regard to Iran,” Trump said, adding that the pontiff was “very weak on crime and other things.” In his social media post, Trump also praised the pope’s brother, Louis, saying he liked him “much better” because he was “all MAGA.” Trump further claimed Leo’s rise to the papacy was tied to Washington, writing that the Church chose him because he was an American and because it believed that would be the best way to deal with Trump. Pope Leo pushed back later on Monday, defending his calls for peace and saying he had no fear of speaking out. “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,” the pontiff told reporters aboard his plane as he began a 10-day trip to Africa. “We are not politicians, we don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective as he might understand it,” he said. “But I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker.” Other Topics of Interest Trump Orders US Navy Blockade of Strait of Hormuz After Peace Talks Collapse Following failed negotiations in Islamabad, the US president announced a total maritime blockade and the seizure of vessels paying “illegal tolls” to Tehran. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a close Trump ally, also criticized Trump’s remarks, calling them “unacceptable.” “The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and it is right and normal for him to call for peace and to condemn every form of war,” Meloni said in a statement. The clash reflects an unusually direct confrontation between a US president and the pope, with Trump openly challenging both the pontiff’s stance and the Catholic Church’s moral authority. Analysts say the dispute could also alienate Catholic voters in the United States, a key constituency in national elections. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization since 1995. Its international market reach of 97% outside of Ukraine makes it truly Ukraine’s Global – and most reliable – Voice.