Pope downplays speculation of clash with Trump, emphasizing pursuit of harmony

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Pope Leo XIV said Saturday he regretted remarks he made were interpreted as a response to criticism from President Donald Trump, insisting he had no interest in debating the US leader.

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An example was a speech about “tyrants” ransacking the world that he delivered in Cameroon on Thursday, on the second leg of a tour of Africa, Leo told journalists as he travelled to Angola.

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The remarks had been written well before Trump’s “comment on myself and on the message of peace that I am promoting,” he said.

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“And yet it was perceived as if I were trying to start a new debate with the president, which doesn’t interest me at all,” Leo said.

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“Much of what has been written since then has been more commentary on commentary, trying to interpret what has been said,” he said.

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Leo had blasted “tyrants” ransacking the world on Thursday while on a high-security visit to Cameroon’s northwestern city of Bamenda, the epicentre of a nearly decade-long English-speaking separatist insurgency that has killed thousands.

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The remarks were interpreted by the US media in particular as a reference to Trump.

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But they were written well before Trump’s criticisms, Leo said, adding “there’s been a certain narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects”.

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Trump had said on April 12 he was “not a big fan of Pope Leo”, and accused him of “toying with a country (Iran) that wants a nuclear weapon”.

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He later doubled down on his comments to reporters with a post on Truth Social, saying: “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”

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“Pope Leo is weak on Crime and terrible for Foreign Policy,” the US leader said.

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AFP

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