Pope Leo XIV pushed back Monday against US President Donald Trump's broadside against him over the US-Israel war in Iran, saying the Vatican's appeals for peace and reconciliation are rooted in the Gospel, and that he didn't fear the Trump administration.
"To put my message on the same plane as what the President has attempted to do here, I think is not understanding what the message of the Gospel is," Leo told The Associated Press aboard the papal plane.
"And I'm sorry to hear that but I will continue on what I believe is the mission of the church in the world today."
History's first US-born pope stressed that he was not making a direct attack against Trump or anyone else with his general appeal for peace and criticisms of the "delusion of omnipotence" that is fuelling the Iran wars and other conflicts around the world.
Trump on Sunday night sharply intensified his criticism of Pope Leo in an unusually direct clash between the White House and the Vatican.
Trump delivered the criticism in a lengthy social media post and later doubled down while speaking to reporters after returning to Washington from Florida.
"I'm not a fan of Pope Leo," he said.
In his post, Trump wrote, "Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime and terrible for Foreign Policy," adding, "I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon."
He reiterated that stance to reporters, saying, "We don't like a Pope who says it's OK to have a nuclear weapon."
Trump also broadened his attack beyond the Iran conflict, criticising the Pope’s views on other global issues.
"I don't want a Pope who thinks it's terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States," he wrote, referring to his administration’s move to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January.