Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has described Donald Trump’s remarks about Pope Leo XIV as “unacceptable.” The former U.S. president had accused the pontiff of being “WEAK on Crime and terrible for Foreign Policy” in a lengthy Truth Social post, later telling reporters he was “not a big fan.” Meloni stated, “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, a Catholic who leads a right-wing coalition government, is a close ally of Trump and had previously shown reluctance to condemn his harsh criticism of Pope Leo. This stance drew criticism from Italian opposition parties. Her coalition partner, Matteo Salvini, leader of the populist League party, commented that “attacking the Pope… doesn’t seem like a useful or intelligent thing to do.”
Following Trump’s remarks, the Pope, while en route to Algeria, told reporters he did not wish to engage in a debate with Trump but would continue to promote peace. Pope Leo has previously stated he has “no fear” of the Trump administration and would continue to speak out against war, especially after the former U.S. president launched an unusual and scathing attack over his stance on the Iran conflict. The Pope has been a staunch critic of the Iran war, calling Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization “unacceptable” and urging him to find an “off-ramp” to end the conflict.
On Monday, Trump doubled down on his criticism, asserting he would not apologize to the “very weak” Pope. It is generally rare for a Pope to directly address statements by world leaders. The U.S. has more than 70 million Catholics, comprising about 20% of the population, including Trump’s Vice-President, JD Vance.
Trump’s comments coincided with the pontiff’s 11-day trip to Africa, his second major foreign journey since being elected last year. In a Sunday post, the former U.S. president wrote that the Pope “should get his act together” and was “weak on nuclear weapons,” apparently referring to Tehran’s attempts to become a nuclear power, cited as one of the reasons for the U.S. and Israel’s conflict with Iran. He also suggested that the pontiff was elected “because he was American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J Trump.” Trump added, “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”
When asked by reporters to explain his post, Trump later said, “I don’t think he’s doing a very good job, he likes crime, I guess.” He further added, “He’s a very liberal person, and he’s a man who doesn’t believe in stopping crime, he’s a man who doesn’t believe we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world.”
In response, the Pope told reporters on board his plane to Algiers that he viewed his role not as a politician but as one of spreading the message of peace. “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,” he stated. “I don’t want to get into a debate with [Trump],” he added, emphasizing, “Too many people are suffering in the world today. Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say: there’s a better way to do this.”
The pontiff later used a speech to criticize “continuous violations of international law and neocolonial tendencies,” urging leaders to embrace principles of justice and solidarity. Trump’s remarks also drew condemnation from Catholics around the world, with one expert comparing the comments to the Pope’s relationship with fascist dictators in World War Two. Prominent Italian Catholic commentator Massimo Faggioli remarked, “Not even Hitler or Mussolini attacked the Pope so directly and publicly.”
The Pope has frequently used public addresses to denounce global conflicts and urge de-escalation in the Middle East. When Trump threatened Iran, saying that “a whole civilisation will die tonight,” the Pope responded by calling the statement “truly unacceptable.” The Pope has also criticized Trump’s hard-line immigration policy, questioning whether it was possible for someone to be “pro-life”—a term normally associated with opponents of abortion—while agreeing with what he described as the “inhuman treatment of immigrants.”
Pope Leo is seen as continuing the humanitarian tradition of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who during the 2016 election campaign, called Trump “not Christian” due to his anti-immigrant language. Trump, in turn, described the late Pope as “disgraceful.”
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