Giorgia Mello, the Italian prime minister, has strongly criticized Donald Trump for his remarks against Pope Leo XIV. She called them “inacceptable”.
In a long post published on Truth Social, Trump claimed that the Pope was “weak” on crime and “terrible” for his foreign policy. Later, he told reporters he “wasn’t a fan” of Pope Francis.
Meloni defends Pope’s role
Meloni stated that the Catholic church is led by the pope and he should be respected. She said that it was natural for the Pope to talk about peace and denounce wars in any form.
Politics in Italy
Matteo Salvini – leader of the League and partner in Meloni’s coalition – also dissociated himself from Trump’s comments. He stated that attacking the pope is not useful or sensible.
Pope Leo XIV responds during Africa visit
Pope Leo XIV replied while on a 11-day visit to Africa. He stated that he did not wish to get into a conflict with Trump, but would continue to advocate for peace.
The US president said that he is not afraid of any political pressure and would continue to address global conflicts, such as wars and nuclear tensions.
Continued tensions over Iran War comments
Pope Francis has openly criticised the Iran conflict, and US military threats. The Pope has previously called threats to destroy Iranian culture unacceptable, and encouraged world leaders to seek a peaceful resolution.
Trump has however redoubled his criticism. He refused to apologize and called the Pope weak again.
Global context and wider attention
Both figures have a great deal of influence, and this has attracted attention to both exchanges. About one-fifth of the US population is made up by more than 70 millions Catholics.
The Pope made these comments during the early days of his tenure, as global tensions were rising. These direct conversations between the US president and the Pope are rare.
