Luanda, Angola – Pope Leo XIV said Saturday he regretted remarks he made were interpreted as a response to criticism from US President Donald Trump, insisting he had no interest in debating the leader.
Okay News reports that Pope Leo XIV told journalists as he travelled to Angola that a speech about tyrants he delivered in Cameroon on Thursday was written well before the president’s comments.
“The remarks had been written well before Trump’s comment on myself and on the message of peace that I am promoting,” he said. “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,” he said.
The Pope delivered the speech in the northwestern city of Bamenda. “Much of what has been written since then has been more commentary on commentary, trying to interpret what has been said,” he said.
Donald Trump 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”.
He later posted on Truth Social, saying: “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”
“Pope Leo is weak on Crime and terrible for Foreign Policy,” the US leader said.
