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ARCHIVE - Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. Photo: Gregorio Borgia/AP/dpa/archived image
Keystone
US President Donald Trump has attacked the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV, in an extraordinary act. The Pope is "terrible" when it comes to foreign policy, the Republican wrote on the Truth Social platform. The Pope is also US-American.
Trump wrote that the Pope should be "grateful" as he only became Pope because he is US-American - so that Trump could be dealt with better. "If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican," claimed Trump, who often refers to the Christian faith in his politics.
The US president went on to write that he did not want a pope who thought it was okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. He does not want a pope who thinks it is terrible that the USA attacked Venezuela.
Trump's fierce criticism follows a sermon by the Pope on Saturday in which he called for an end to wars. "Stop the war!" said the head of around 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide during a large prayer for peace in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. In his sermon, the Pope made a direct appeal to those in power: "Stop! It is time for peace!" The Pontiff spoke of "fantasies of omnipotence that are becoming more and more unpredictable and aggressive around us".
On February 28, the USA and Israel attacked Iran, which in turn responded with counter-attacks. A ceasefire is currently in place.
The otherwise reserved Pope's appeals for peace have recently intensified, particularly with regard to the Iran war. Leo - the first pope from the USA - condemned Trump's harsh threats against Iran in unusually harsh terms, calling them "truly unacceptable".
13.04.2026, 06:42
