ALGIERS (dpa-AFX) – After massive criticism from Donald Trump, Pope Leo XIV has made it clear that he does not want to be intimidated by the US President. At the start of his longest foreign trip to date through four African countries, the first pontiff from the United States said: “I am not afraid of the Trump administration.” The US President had previously accused him of pursuing a “terrible” foreign policy. Leo had obviously incurred the wrath of the White House with his repeated appeals for an end to the current wars.
On the flight from Rome to Algeria, the first stop on his African trip, the head of the Catholic Church replied that he was “not a politician.” “What I say is in no way meant as an attack on anyone. I invite all people to build bridges for peace and reconciliation and to look for ways to avoid war.” Leo made the comments during a tour of the plane, which usually involves just exchanging a few friendly words with accompanying journalists.
Pope: “Blessed are the peacemakers”
The Pope’s statements are just as unusual as public criticism from a US president – especially since Trump and other members of the US government repeatedly refer to the Christian faith. Without directly referring to it or even naming names, Leo said, “I don’t believe that the message of the gospel is meant to be abused the way some people do.” Elsewhere he added: “The message of the Gospel is very clear: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.'” The Bible quote comes from the Sermon on the Mount.
Shortly before his departure, the US President accused the pontiff of pursuing a “terrible” foreign policy. On the Truth Social platform, Trump wrote that Leo only came into office because they hoped that a pope from the USA could deal with him better. “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”
He doesn’t want a pope who thinks it’s okay that Iran has a nuclear weapon or thinks the US military’s use of force against Venezuela is terrible. Leo should “pull himself together” and use “common sense”. Shortly afterwards, Trump posted on his account a kind of painting – presumably AI-generated – showing him as a savior, with fighter jets and a huge US flag in the background.
Trump later tried to downplay the massive criticism of the self-portrait as Jesus. “I thought it showed me as a doctor,” he told reporters at the White House. He assumed that he had been portrayed as a “Red Cross employee”. The post was deleted from his account after a few hours. Critics accused the president of blasphemy.
No date yet for travel back home to the USA
Just at the weekend, Leo again called for an end to the current wars – not just in Ukraine or the Middle East, but also elsewhere. He made a direct appeal to those in power: “Stop! It’s time for peace!” Since the Iran war began at the end of February, the Pope has become more outspoken in his criticism of the USA. Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said it was right for Leo to condemn all forms of war. Trump’s criticism is “unacceptable.”
The relationship between the head of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide and the US President has long been considered tense. Immediately after his election last May, Leo was described as the “anti-Trump.” Since then, there has been repeated speculation about a trip by the first US pope to his homeland and also to Washington. There is already an invitation for this, but no date yet.
Instead, the Pope’s first big “own” trip now takes him to Africa. A visit to Turkey and Lebanon at the end of last year was planned by his late predecessor Francis. The pontiff was received by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in Algeria’s capital Algiers. He then visited the Great Mosque there and held a service. Other stops include Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.
More Catholics in Africa than in Europe
The search for peace will be the theme of the entire African trip, as will the understanding with Islam. No pope has ever visited Algeria – a predominantly Muslim country. Of the approximately 47 million inhabitants, only around 9,000 are Catholics. Islam is the state religion. There are always conflicts.
Popes have repeatedly visited Africa in recent decades. The continent is one of the regions of the world where the Catholic Church is growing. There are currently around 290 million Catholics living there – now even more than in Europe. Around a fifth (20.3 percent) of all Catholics worldwide now come from Africa./cs/DP/he
