Pope Leo has said he “will not shy away from announcing the message of the Gospel” in response to criticism from President Donald Trump.
The 70-year-old pontiff told reporters aboard the papal plane to Algeria that he would continue to proclaim a message of peace, adding that “to put my message on the same plane as what the president has attempted to do here … is not understanding what the message of the Gospel is.”
He further said that he had “no fear of the Trump administration”.
The remarks came after President Donald Trump posted a scathing attack on the world’s first Pope from the United States, calling him “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” In reference to Leo’s continued calls for peace, the president said: “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela … And I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected … to do.”
