Lion XIV responds: “I am not afraid of the Trump administration”.”

On Sunday, April 12, the president of United States, Donald Trump criticized Pope Leo XIV. The US ruler described the Pontiff as “indulgent to crime” and “terrible for foreign policy”.

Trump's attacks come on the heels of Leo XIV's many public condemnations of war. The Pope insists in all his interventions on the urgency of seeking peace, which is why he called for a prayer vigil on Saturday, April 11 at the Vatican.

Donald Trump's criticism

Given the Holy Father's opposition to the war in Iran, the U.S. president wrote a lengthy text on the social network “Truth Social”: “I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have nuclear weapons. I don't want a Pope who thinks it's terrible that the United States attacked Venezuela, a country that shipped massive amounts of drugs to the United States and, worse, emptied its prisons - including murderers, drug dealers and murderers - to send to our country. And I don't want a pope criticizing the president of the United States because I am doing exactly what I was elected, by an overwhelming majority, to do: reduce crime to historic lows and create the best stock market in history.”.

In addition, Trump assured in the same publication that Leo XIV is Pope thanks to him, because the Church needed an American Pontiff to deal with him.

The mission of the Church

For his part, Pope Leo XIV responded to the President's words during his flight from Rome to Algeria stating, “I am not afraid of the Trump Administration or of proclaiming out loud the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here for, what the Church is here for.”.

During his conversation with journalists, the Holy Father also expressed his excitement at visiting Africa and called the trip a blessing for himself.