Pope Leo XIV will continue his role as peacemaker and said he has “no fear” of the Trump administration.
The pope spoke with reporters aboard the papal plane on its way to Algeria Monday, Mediaite reported.
The pope was responding to a late-night social media post from Trump, who called the pontiff “weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy.”
“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,” Leo said.
“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,” he added.
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Trump accused Leo of misunderstanding his political agenda and suggested Leo became pope because of him.
“He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump,” the president wrote. “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”
He also claimed the pope was soft on global security issues, like Iran and Venezuela.
According to Catholic outlet Crux Now, the pontiff said his criticism of international conflicts “are certainly not meant as attacks on anyone. He added he would also “not shy away from pronouncing the message of the Gospel.”
“The Gospel is very clear, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers,’” the pope said, urging nations to pursue “ways of building bridges for peace and reconciliation.”
He also said he and Trump’s policies should not be compared.
“To put my message on the same plane as what the President is attempting to do here is not understanding what the message of the Gospel is,” he said.
