Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has sharply condemned Donald Trump’s remarks about Pope Leo XIV, calling them “unacceptable” after the U.S. president launched a public attack on the pontiff’s stance on war and peace, according to BBC News.
Trump accused Pope Leo of being “weak on crime” and said he was bad for foreign policy in a long post on Truth Social. He later told reporters he was “not a big fan” of the pope and doubled down on his criticism, refusing to apologize.
Meloni, who is a Catholic and one of Trump’s closest allies in Europe, had remained silent at first. But on Monday she broke that silence, saying it was “right and normal” for the pope to call for peace and condemn war in all its forms. Her response came after growing pressure from opposition parties in Italy, which accused her of staying quiet for too long.
Her coalition partner Matteo Salvini also distanced himself from Trump’s attack, saying that insulting the pope “doesn’t seem like a useful or intelligent thing to do.”
The clash comes after Pope Leo, speaking aboard a flight to Algeria, said he would not get drawn into a political fight with Trump. Instead, he said he would continue speaking for peace. He added that he had “no fear” of the Trump administration and would keep speaking out against war, especially after Trump’s hard line on Iran.
The pope has strongly criticized Trump’s threats against Iran, calling talk of destroying an entire civilization “unacceptable.” He has also urged the U.S. president to find a way out of the conflict rather than deepen it.
Trump’s comments also touched a nerve among Catholics in the United States, where more than 70 million people belong to the Church. His remarks came as Pope Leo began an 11-day trip to Africa, his second major foreign journey since becoming pope last year.
In his online post, Trump suggested that the pope had been chosen partly because he was American and claimed that if he had not been in the White House, Leo would not be in the Vatican. He also called the pope “very weak” and said he did not believe he was doing a good job.
Pope Leo, however, kept his tone calm. He said he was not there to act like a politician, but to spread the message of the Gospel and call the world back to peace.
