Pope Leo XIV on Monday defended his stance on peace and rejected criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump over the war involving Iran.
Speaking to reporters at the start of a 10-day trip to Africa, the pope said he had no fear of speaking out and would continue to promote the message of the Gospel as a call for peace.
“We are not politicians,” he said, adding that the church approaches global conflicts from a moral and spiritual perspective, not a political one.
Trump had earlier criticized the pope, calling his position on the Iran conflict “terrible for foreign policy” and saying he disagreed with the pontiff’s views on nuclear threats.
The exchange follows growing tensions between the two, after the pope condemned recent rhetoric around the conflict as “unacceptable,” warning against threats of large-scale destruction.
The pope has also rejected attempts to frame the conflict in religious terms, pushing back against suggestions by U.S. officials that the war effort carries divine backing.
