Pope Leo XIV on Saturday said he regretted that his earlier remarks were interpreted as a response to criticism from United States President Donald Trump, stressing that he has no interest in engaging in a debate with the US leader.
The Pope made the clarification while speaking to journalists aboard his flight to Angola during his ongoing tour of Africa.
He explained that a speech he delivered in Cameroon on Thursday, in which he spoke about “tyrants” ransacking the world, had been prepared well before recent comments made by Trump.
The pontiff noted that the remarks were not directed at the US president or his views.
“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,” Leo said.
“Much of what has been written since then has been more commentary on commentary, trying to interpret what has been said,” he said.
Pope Leo had delivered the speech during a high-security visit to Bamenda in Cameroon’s northwest, a region affected by a prolonged separatist insurgency.
However, sections of the US media interpreted the comments as a veiled reference to Trump.
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The Pope dismissed that interpretation, maintaining that the speech had been written earlier and adding that “there’s been a certain narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects”.
Trump had, on April 12, criticised the pontiff, saying he was “not a big fan of Pope Leo” and accusing him of “toying with a country (Iran) that wants a nuclear weapon”.
He later reinforced his stance in a post on Truth Social.
“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.
